The Supreme Court of Appeal has reserved a ruling on whether or not to vacate a stay order that Golden Plastics obtained suspending the implementation of a ban on the production and use of thin plastics.
This is after Justice Lovemore Chikopa heard from lawyers for Golden Plastics and the state which is being represented Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda.
Speaking to MIJ Online, Madalo Banda, lawyer for Golden Plastics Company said the manufacturer wants the stay order to be upheld because the regulations which the minister of natural resources propagated on the implementation of the ban were never read before parliament.
According to Banda, Sec 58 of the Constitution provides that when making subsidiary legislations- they are supposed to be read before parliament and failure to do so renders the regulations void.
In addition, Banda said the regulations are affecting her client’s right to economic activities arguing that the minister does have powers to limit economic rights of people.
In 2019, the Supreme Court of Appeal upheld government’s ban on thin plastics – a ruling that overruled a High Court ruling of 2015, which sustained production, distribution, and importation of thin plastics of less than 60 microns.
Initially, thirteen manufacturing companies had obtained an injunction against the implementation of the ban arguing their business rights were being infringed.
This was before, the United Nations Environment Assembly passed a resolution entitled Addressing single-use plastic products pollution, which encourages governments and the private sector to “promote the production, use and sound management of plastics across their life cycle.”
The resolution also urges member states to “take comprehensive action, regarding single-use plastic products, to address the waste through, where appropriate, legislation, implementation of international agreements, provision of adequate waste management infrastructure, improvement of waste management practices and support for waste minimization.