Information Communication and Technology Minister Aggrey Awori and Environment Minister Maria Mutagamba on Monday disagreed on how best the government should handle the ban on carrier plastic bags (kaveera) and prohibitive taxes on plastics dangerous to the environment.

Yet during the presentation of the Budget in June, Finance Minister Syda Bbumba clearly communicated the government position when she announced a ban on the importation of second hand freezers, refrigerators, computers and television sets.

We expect that these policy decisions were first discussed within the government. There should therefore be disagreements between members of the cabinet on this matter. Lack of coordination and internal cohesion aside, the time for sacrificing the environment at the altar of political expedience and short-term economic gains is no more. This newspaper has been steadfast in its support of all efforts, legislative and policy to protect the environment.

The results of our careless handling of our environment are all too clear. It is absurd that the minister responsible for protecting the environment is now arguing the case for those with economic interests in some of the most dangerous materials to our environment--polythene bags and plastic bottles that have clogged our drainage systems and turned tracts of land uncultivable, among others.

We must note that this is the same government that has encouraged the destruction of forests through the 2001 presidential directive halting eviction of encroachers on central forest reserves, the invasion of wetlands through failure to enforce existing laws against encroachment or publicly supporting encroachers.

Some government officials now seem to have bought into the argument by those who think dire economic consequences will befall the country if the ban is enforced. This argument is at best false and at worst parochial and selfish. Yes, there will be consequences but these can only be short-term and will not hurt as many people as is being projected. Any thought about postponing the ban would only be a postponement of the problem.

If we are serious about our environment, the ban on kaveera must be enforced now. We should emulate the Rwanda example where travellers from Uganda are required to leave their kaveera on the Ugandan side of the border.