Lydia Wanyoto has said Uganda and East Africa at large should not accept to be a dumping place for second hand electronic gadgets.
She said this is because these electronics come with a lot of pollution which are very dangerous to human health.
Wanyoto, who is the Executive Board Member at National Planning Authority (NPA), questioned how Ugandans are managing the wastes of electronics because they come with a lot of pollution which cannot only destroy the environment but also our health.
“We are importing a lot of second hand electronics, vehicles and fridges.We should not allow Uganda or East African as a region to be a dumping place for electronics because they come with a lot of pollution that can affect us,” she said.
Wanyoto made the remarks while appearing on the NBS SpotlightUg Show that aired on March 27 2023 under the topic: Building a brighter future together: Exploring the third National Development Plan (NDPIII) and its impact on the lives of Uganda.
She explained that Ugandans should build a culture of managing the environment on the issue of waste and also afforestation.
“We should not be the victims of bad climate change. Uganda has a very good opportunity to maintain the best environment in the world because we have very good weather and we have not yet polluted the environment compared to other industrialized countries. We are planning to industrialize,” she said.
She noted that enforcement of the available polices is one of the challenges that is affecting effort to ensure that we protect the environment.
“We have to grow a culture of how to do waste management because even the basics of plastics we have not been able to do it well. Look at the health center how they dispose of biological waste, this are basic we should have, in schools, families but in authorities,” she said.
She said people should be able to harness the water bodies in terms of the blue economy, adding that Uganda is a lucky country hence keeping water bodies fresh is very paramount.
"We should be able to harness our bodies in terms of blue economy and also sustain it and also use it as a communication facility in terms of transporting by putting cargo in the water bodies. Apart from fishing, what else can we do to ensure that we do a lot of water tourism,” she said.
Wanyoto also shared a brief about the NPA and its mandate which was established by the NPA Act (15 of 2002) in accordance with Article 125 of the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda.
The primary function of the Authority is to produce comprehensive and integrated development plans for the country elaborated in terms of the prospective vision and the medium-term and long-term plans.
In pursuance of its primary planning functions, the Authority carries out the following functions;
· Coordinates and harmonizes development planning in the country;
· Monitors and evaluates the effectiveness and impact of development programmes and the performance of the economy of Uganda;
· Advises the President on policies and strategies for the development of Uganda;
· Support local capacity development for national planning and in particular, Provides support and guidance to the national and local bodies responsible for the decentralized planning process;
· Study and publish independent assessments of key economic and social policy issues and options increase public understanding and participation in the economic and social policy debate;
· Liaise with the private sector and civil society in the evaluation of Government performance and identifying gaps in government policies and programmes;
· Reviews high priority development issues and need and make recommendations;
· Ensures that all national plans are gender and disability sensitive, and,
· Designs and implements programs to develop planning capacity in local governments.
The Authority was established to build national capacity for visionary and long-term planning. It was envisaged that the authority would establish a framework that enables the short and medium-term national priorities to be derived from and guided by agreed strategic objectives, long term development goals and prospective vision aspirations.
It was also established as an institution responsible for ensuring a sustainable and balanced national development by integrating economic, social and political dimensions of development with spatial and environmental aspects.