• A court in Machakos had earlier ordered three companies to pay over Sh11 million to the EPZA for illegally using its sewer line.
• Makateto said the county administration was in contempt of court by making the connections.
Image: GEORGE OWITI
The Export Processing Zone Authority has issued a warning against illegal connections to its water and trunk sewer lines.
Chief executive officer George Makateto said some individuals have been making unlawful connections to its lines in Mavoko, Machakos county. He said all entities connected to the EPZA trunk sewer and water lines should reapply within 14 days to be connected afresh. The directive took effective from Thursday.
“The Export Processing Zone Authority wishes to inform the public that the Environment and Land Court in Machakos delivered a judgment on October 4, 2019, in ELC Case No. 35 of 2010 — Kapa Oil Refineries Ltd and seven others versus Export Processing Zone Authority and two others — in which the court determined that EPZA is a licensed water undertaker vide Legal Notice No. 74 of 1997 and that it owns the trunk sewer line and the water infrastructure leading to the EPZA Athi River Zone together with the treatment plant at Kenanie,” Makateto said.
He spoke to The Star at a Nairobi hotel on Thursday. The Authority issued a public notice through national dailies to pass the information.
"Notice is therefore given of the existence of the above judgment and the public is further notified that all entities connected to the EPZA Trunk Sewer and Waterline should reapply to be connected afresh to the infrastructure within Fourteen (14) days from the date of publication of this notice,” it read.
Makateto said all entities should familiarise themselves with the EPZA Water and Sewerage Standard Operating Procedure. The EPZA as a responsible public agency will not allow any pollution into its infrastructure and reserves the right to allow or disallow any application, he warned.
Makateto said Mavoko Water and Sewerage Company (Mavwasco) had no legal rights to collect levies from clients, yet it does not own or service facilities.
“We own the water and trunk lines that we maintain ourselves at our own costs while Mavwasco collects money from industrial companies, locals and private investors,” Makateto said.
"We will give conditions to all entities connected to our trunk sewer and water lines, including quality of discharge and volume to avoid cartels that have been collecting money from them from continuing to fleece them."
Makateto accused Mavwasco, industrial companies and private investors and some residents of polluting the environment by discharging raw sewerage and effluent into the open and River Athi, only for the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) to blame EPZA. He said that was unacceptable and they will not allow it to continue.
The notice was issued only three days after the Machakos government forcibly reconnected several companies and residents to their main sewer trunk line after they were disconnected over pollution claims.
Led by Water executive Naomi Mutie, Mavwasco staff reconnected sewer trunks from Kapa Oil Refineries Limited (which runs from KAPA to Athi River) to Paradise Park and Karibu Homes. But Makateto said the county administration acted in contempt of court.
A court in Machakos had ordered three companies to pay more than Sh11 million to the EPZA for illegally using its sewer line. Justice Oscar Angote ruled that the EPZA should control industrial effluent from companies operating within the Athi River Export Processing Zone Complex, bringing to an end a long-running dispute over the matter. The dispute started in 2010 when Kapa Oil, Sanpac Africa, Allpack Industries, Orbit Chemicals, Mabati Rolling Mills, Doshi Enterprises and Decent Developers stopped paying fees to the EPZA for the discharge of their waste to the main sewer line.
The judge, however, said there was evidence that Kapa Oil Refineries Ltd, Doshi Enterprises Ltd and Decent Developers Ltd colluded with Mavwasco and Tanathi Water Services Board to illegally connect their sewer lines to EPZA’s trunk sewer without consent.
“Any connection to EPZA main sewer line by any other authority without consent is illegal, null and void. The companies are, therefore, ordered to pay a total of Sh11,664,000, being the cumulative arrears from March 2010,” he directed.
Angote ordered all companies operating within the EPZ to enter into negotiations with the authority on how they will be discharging their effluent to the main sewer line and to the Kinanie treatment plant. He peaked holes in the privatisation of water and sewerage services, saying it shifts the state’s obligation to provide clean water and environment by putting it in the hands of a few individuals who might abuse it.
“The right to a clean and healthy environment is equated to the right to life because there can be no life in a toxic and polluted environment. The state is, therefore, obliged to provide resources to scale up efforts to provide safe, clean and affordable drinking water and sanitation to all,” Angote said.
He noted that many industries and homes within the zone have been illegally depositing effluent, hence the EPZA must take charge to stop environmental pollution.
(Edited by F'Orieny)