By Charles Mkoka
Tanzania’s National Environment Management Council (NEMC) on Wednesday ordered the closure of two manufacturing plants in Dar es Salaam after they were found to be operating in violation of environmental laws.
The affected companies, Juye Concrete Company Limited and YK Tosh Company Limited, both located in the Mikocheni area, were shut down following an inspection that uncovered multiple environmental breaches, NEMC said in a statement.
Hamadi Taimuru, NEMC’s Compliance Manager, said the companies had begun production without conducting Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), lacked dust control systems, and had no wastewater treatment facilities, resulting in untreated effluent flowing into nearby residential areas.
“These factories have been inspected more than four times, and both written and verbal directives were issued for them to correct their infrastructure deficiencies,” Taimuru said. “However, they failed to comply, and complaints from neighbouring residents continued, prompting the council to take enforcement action.”
NEMC’s Eastern and Northern Zone Manager, Glory Kombe, urged all investors to carry out environmental impact assessments before starting projects to ensure legal compliance, protect public health, and avoid harm to the environment.
For his part, Juye Concrete’s General Manager, Cao Zhojun, said the company would comply fully with all directives to ensure its operations meet legal and environmental standards.
NEMC said it would continue enforcing the Environmental Management Act to protect public health and the environment, while ensuring that development and investment activities are conducted sustainably and responsibly.
“Everyone has a responsibility to protect the environment, even when production benefits the community,” Taimuru said. “If it harms people’s health, it defeats the purpose, because public health is essential.”
The council added that if environmental design assessments had been conducted at the planning stage, the violations could have been avoided, urging all factory owners to seek guidance early to prevent unnecessary costs and environmental damage.