Bank officials call for stricter implementation waste management laws

Equity Bank officials, groups, and community members at the Nyali beach on Friday / BRIAN OTIENO

Environmental and waste management laws need to be enforced strictly to help conserve the environment, senior Equity Bank officials have said.

The officials, however, said environmental conservation is everyone’s responsibility as it is directly linked to quality of life.

Equity Bank Changamwe branch manager Jacob Akida on Tuesday said plastics destroy the marine ecosystem, adding that responsible use and disposal greatly improve the quality of life for both Coastal and inland communities.

Akida said Mombasa is a tourism hub and for it to flourish, all residents must help authorities maintain environmental cleanliness.

“In most cases, when we talk about the environment, people think it does not affect them and therefore do not care. What they do not know is that the environment is the one thing that determines the quality of life we live,” he said.

He said destruction of the environment amounts to destruction of life.

“The air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat need to exist in a clean and healthy environment for them to benefit us as living creatures,” Akida said.

On Friday, during World Environment Day, Akida led Equity Bank staff and other partner organisations in a beach clean-up exercise to commemorate the day.

He was joined by Majestic Zero Waste Management, Majestic Digital Hub, Equity Group Foundation, Bogo Bogo Top Player, Kibarani BMU, Coast Lobby, Kenya Wildlife Service and Equity Leadership Program Scholars in the exercise, where they collected 564kg of waste at Nyali Beach.

On Tuesday, Akida told the Star the clean-up was meant to demonstrate that all residents should act responsibly.

“There would be no need for stricter enforcement of environmental laws if we as residents were a little more responsible,” he said.

“These laws are there to guide us and we do not need sticks and canes to follow them. We should all be responsible enough,” he said.

Majestic Digital Hub CEO Stephen Musyoki said climate change is a major issue that affects everyone, meaning all people must be responsible enough to help mitigate its effects.

“One of the ways of combating climate change is for everyone, in their own small capacity, to take care of the ocean. We have to ensure our beaches are clean and free from carelessly disposed plastics,” Musyoki said.

The CEO said although the National Environment Management Authority has put in place measures to curb plastic waste disposal, implementation remains a challenge.

“Up to now, we have achieved a lot, but we are not there yet. The thing is, this is not only about Nema. It is about you and me. We are the ones disposing of plastics carelessly and it is us who should be responsible enough to see the damage it causes and rectify our waste disposal habits,” Musyoki said.

He said that at Mombasa beaches, for instance, there are designated places for waste disposal, but some people still fail to use them and instead drop litter wherever they are.

Equity Bank has so far planted more than 45 million trees as part of its environmental sustainability efforts since before 2010.

Akida said this is among the values the bank seeks to instil in young people through the Equity Leadership Program Scholars.

Equity Group Foundation’s Jane Wangare said environmental conservation and protection should not be a one-day activity but an everyday responsibility for all Kenyans.

“Wherever you are, you are in an environment. Take care of it. Do not litter and dispose of your waste responsibly. This way, nature will be kind to you and me,” Wangare said.

Equity Bank officials, groups, and community members at the Nyali beach on Friday / BRIAN OTIENO

Equity Bank officials, groups, and community members at the Nyali beach on Friday / BRIAN OTIENO