Madagascar : Prohibition of plastic bags from October 1 2015 by Hôtel★★★ RESTAURANT gourmand COCO LODGE MAJUNGA
Environmentalists have welcomed the ban on the use of the plastic bag, approved by the council of government, Tuesday. Manufacturers feel aggrieved by the approach adopted.
The State has announced by decree that the import of plastic bags has been banned since the beginning of last May. On the other hand, the production, the marketing and distribution of this product will be prohibited throughout the national territory from 01 October 2015. A gradual reduction in the use of these plastic bags is undertaken until the arrival of this deadline. The Minister of the Environment, forests, Ecology and the Sea, Beboarimisa Ralava, explained it.
An awareness campaign is now launched towards merchants and end users. The supervisory ministry thus plans to carry out a raid on the markets, to do this. On the other hand, those who will still violate the new regulations in force beyond the 01 October 2015, “they will be prosecuted on payment of a fine between 10 million and 100 millions of Ariary. A term of imprisonment ranging from 6 month to 3 years will also be inflicted upon them”, He spoke of.
This new law will allow Madagascar to follow in the footsteps of many African countries.. Also, Mali and Mauritania adopted last year the ban on the production, the marketing and use of plastic bags. Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa and Kenya had already banned sachets short. The most drastic measure was taken by Rwanda and Somalia, by completely banning this product, followed by imprisonment and a fine in case of violation.
The new measure announced is thus presented as a big win for environmentalists. The latter have been qualifying the plastic bag for years as a product that is very harmful to the environment.. « It takes more than a century to make a plastic bag disappear. This product following the rivers also flows into the sea and suffocates marine biodiversity. A whole marine life is threatened by this product, if it invades a portion of the sea”, explained a teacher at the Faculty of Sciences. Biodiversity is not the only one threatened by the plastic bag. This non-biodegradable product also clogs drainage channels causing flooding in urban areas.
The biggest losers in the face of this government decision are the industrialists. The new measure was taken as a blow by Stéphane Raveloson, president of the union of industries of Madagascar. “There will be jobs lost and industries closed”, did he react hotly. To hear it, there should be consultation before adopting such a law. “This measure is not appropriate in this period of emerging from the crisis. A substantial investment is needed to deal with this new law”, added Stéphane Raveloson. No details on the sanction imposed on the industrialists, nor the accompanying measure relating to this new law, was disclosed yesterday by officials of the Ministry of the Environment, Ecology and forestry. "There should be consultation between the ministries concerned and the interested parties before revealing the details of this measure", concludes an official from the Ministry of the Environment, Ecology and forestry.
by Hôtel★★★ RESTAURANT gourmand COCO LODGE MAJUNGA
