The Eenhana Town Council has admitted that it operated its municipal dumping site for more than three years with an expired Environmental Clearance Certificate. 

The certificate expired in 2022 and was only renewed in March this year, exposing nearby communities to health and environmental risks.

The matter was raised in the Auditor-General's report for the financial year ending June 2023 and questioned by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Accounts during a public hearing in Eenhana this week.

This is the Eenhana municipal dumping site. The site is unfenced, allowing animals and unauthorised people to enter. 

Goats and cattle are seen feeding on waste daily, exposing them to potential health hazards and raising concerns about the safety of meat consumed by the public.

The site is also reportedly at full capacity, with waste scattered across the area. It is located opposite a residential area, with some homes only a few metres away.

During the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Accounts' public hearing on the Auditor-General's findings, it emerged that the dumping site has been operating without a valid Environmental Clearance Certificate, a violation of the law.

Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee Member Inna Hengari asked, "It means that if you kill someone, and the law did not get me at the time and only found me three or four years later, I cannot be punished for it. CEO, is that what you are saying?"

Eenhana Town Council CEO, Wodibo Haulofu, responded, "No, I am accepting that we have been operating and continue to operate the dump site, and we made a provision to decommission it and commission the new one."

The Eenhana Town Council Chief Executive Officer explained that the site remains operational despite concerns about its location and environmental impact.

He said the council intends to decommission the existing site but will continue using it until efforts to establish a new waste-disposal facility are completed.