Nema tours SCOUL over stench complaint

The National Environment Management Authority (Nema) on Wednesday visited Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited (SCOUL) in Lugazi Municipality, Buikwe District, to investigate claims by locals that a foul smell emanates from the sugar factory premises and also find out if there has been an improvement from February when the parliamentary committee visited it.

The team was headed by the principal inspector Nema Patience Nsereko, who toured the sugar factory premises where they discovered that there has been a great improvement since February in managing waste products.
"We have come to follow up a number of complaints raised during the previous months and part of that was waste water discharge and poor management of the gases but they have now improved and put in place new equipments like pipes, and putting in place the bio-digester plant," Nsereko said.

Mr Ani Kumar Shah the Chief Executive of Mehta Group of Companies, said they had registered great improvement on the areas where there have been complaints.
"We got an improvement note from Nema and have implemented the points that were not good like the bio-digester had some linkages and we have put pipe lines. All the discharge has been cleared and covered in line and as a factory we want to keep the environment protected," Mr Shah said.

In February this year, the Parliament committee, headed by Mr Alex Byarugaba (Isingiro South MP), told SCOUL management that they were petitioned by Lugazi Municipality leaders about the issue of pollution in the area.

Mr Byarugaba and his team asked SCOUL to address the waste management issue in accordance to Nema regulations.
There was a disagreement between SCOUL officials and Lugazi Municipality Member of Parliament, Mr Sozi Mulindwa, after he said the waste water from the sugar factory is directly discharged into the streams around the factory without being treated.