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Investors are increasingly up in arms over a controversial new policy introduced by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), which now requires an annual environmental audit for every approved project or risk penalty of up to shillings 10 million.
The policy has triggered outrage within the business community, with investors describing it as punitive, expensive, and detached from the practical realities of implementing projects in Uganda.
Previously, projects approved by NEMA operated under a five-year compliance framework, a timeline investors say was realistic and aligned with the enormous financial and logistical demands involved in establishing industrial facilities, importing machinery, conducting installations, and commissioning operations.
NEMA house
According to investors, the first year of most projects is usually consumed by groundwork, approvals, procurement, and site preparation before meaningful physical progress even becomes visible.
“As investors, we follow the project proposals submitted to NEMA, and in most cases it takes at least three years before there are concrete results on the ground. The five-year arrangement was practical, predictable, and investor-friendly,” one investor said.
For years, many investors considered NEMA one of the country’s most professional regulatory agencies, an institution balancing environmental protection with economic growth while maintaining a reputation for professionalism and technical competence.
However, confidence in the authority is now rapidly deteriorating following the introduction of the annual audit directive by NEMA Executive Director Barirega Akankwasah.
Investors argue that the new requirement has created a massive financial burden, especially for projects where little or nothing has changed within a year. Despite minimal activity, companies are still compelled to hire consultants, repeat environmental tests, compile fresh reports, and undergo another lengthy compliance process.
The result, investors say, is an unnecessary annual expense amounting to Shillings 25 million per project.
“What exactly are we auditing every year when some projects are still at foundation level?” another investor questioned. “This policy is becoming less about environmental protection and more about creating endless compliance costs.”
Concerns have also emerged over what investors describe as an overly centralized and rigid management style at NEMA. Several claim that nearly all approvals and documentation must personally pass through the executive director’s office, creating severe bottlenecks, delays, and frustration among both investors and staff.
Sources familiar with operations at the authority say there is growing dissatisfaction internally due to limited delegation of responsibilities, slow decision-making processes, and a tense working environment that has reportedly demoralized staff.
“The backlog of approvals is growing, investors are frustrated, and staff morale is suffering because almost every major decision revolves around the Executive Director’s office,” a source alleged.
Critics now question why the authority would impose annual audits on projects that may still be in early development stages, arguing that the move has added bureaucracy without corresponding environmental benefits.
So, why introduce an annual audit that makes no practical sense and is so cumbersome for investors? Part of the reason, some allege, is that the executive director, who was previously Catholic, recently converted to Islam and, given the status of his position, embraced a polygamous lifestyle. They argue that this has substantially influenced his financial actions and made his management style even more rigid.
With investor frustration boiling over, many are now calling on the Office of the President to intervene and restore what they describe as “balance, efficiency, and common sense” within the environmental regulatory system before the situation further damages Uganda’s investment climate.
, https://eastafricanwatch.net/investors-revolt-over-nemas-costly-new-audit-policy-as-frustration-mounts-over-delays-dictatorial-management/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=investors-revolt-over-nemas-costly-new-audit-policy-as-frustration-mounts-over-delays-dictatorial-management
