AG warns of legal proceedings against agencies failing to enforce environmental laws

– blasts Police, EPA & other agencies

Acknowledging that the country faces a serious challenge in enforcing its laws, Anil Nandlall, Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, has pledged to pursue reforms aimed at holding enforcement officials more accountable.
“We also have to focus on enforcement because that is part of the major problem – enforcement,” Nandlall affirmed on Tuesday evening during his programme “Issues in the News”. He was speaking about the Government’s renewed effort to address issues such as littering, noise nuisance and other forms of pollution affecting communities.

“We have agencies of the state. We have local authorities. We have the Police force. We have the public health inspectorate department… So while we can pass the best laws, if they are not enforced, then we are back to zero. We have to, as a Government, ensure that all these agencies become aware of their individual and collective legal responsibilities and obligations,” Nandlall emphasised. He also reinforced the need for the law to be enforced against these agencies when there is neglect, omission, or refusal to discharge their obligations.
According to Nandlall, the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) is “one of those agencies”.
“I am not here to criticise, but if we want this reform to take place – and I hope that we want it as a country and as a people – if we want it to succeed and we want to live in a clean environment, an environment that is sanitary and healthy, then people must accept responsibility, acknowledge faults, pledge to correct them and become more responsible. There is no shame in this,” the AG contended as he called out the EPA for its sloth in addressing a matter affecting residents in Mon Repos North, East Coast Demerara (ECD).
Nandlall recalled that during the election campaign last year, the entire community complained about the stench, noise and clogging of drains due to an individual rearing pigs in the village. The AG said he met with the owner of the operation, who promised to relocate. Nandlall also engaged the EPA and the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) on the matter.
To date, the situation remains the same.
“Both entities visited. Notices were served by the NDC and the EPA. I engaged and asked the EPA and the NDC to ensure that the promise made by the man is kept, that the time requested is granted so he can move. Our Government is not in the business of breaking down people’s property unless we are forced to do so… That was in August or July. We are now at the end of April the following year, and the man has not yet moved his operations. The EPA and the NDC have done nothing about it,” Nandlall contended.
“And both have powers to take the necessary actions. I just spoke, just before this programme started, with a senior functionary at the EPA. And no action has been taken yet. He tells me that the man is still asking for more time. September, October, November, December, January, February, March, April. Eight months,” he added.
The AG explained that when he spoke to the operator, the man said he only needed to build a bridge to access the land to which he would relocate the operation.
“Eight months and he’s still there. The people of that community have to continue to endure what he’s putting them through. One person – that is what you call in law a public nuisance, where one person is inconveniencing and violating the rights of an entire community. The enforcement arms are not doing anything about it. I know that I’m in Government and I know that you will tell me, ‘But what are you doing about it?’ That will change, my friend,” Nandlall vowed.
He assured that “not only will the delinquent persons who are causing this nuisance or mischief be addressed, but those who are refusing to enforce the law or neglecting to perform their statutory functions will also be addressed in the process.”
Nandlall emphasised that “taxpayers’ money is funding these agencies. Taxpayers deserve better.” Moreover, he promised that the AG’s Chambers would institute legal proceedings if no action were taken to address the situation in Mon Repos North.
“I told them one last time, or else the Attorney General will institute legal proceedings. The Attorney General will cause actions to be taken. We will have to go to that extent and then deal with those who neglect to perform their functions – the state agencies and the statutory authorities whose function it is to do these things. It’s a zero-tolerance policy,” he noted.
“The organisations that are responsible for enforcing these obligations and carrying out these duties will also have to pull up their socks, for want of a better word,” he added.