Kampala — THE water and environment minister, Maria Mutagamba, is to seek advice from the Attorney General on lifting the ban on plastic bags.

This was one of the recommendations of the Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA) and the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) on Wednesday. Following appeals by UMA to the Government, President Yoweri Museveni reportedly wrote: "Give them a hearing and see what can be done."

Mutagamba produced Museveni's letter to guide the consultations. A ban on the production and importation of plastic bags was announced in June last year. Later, Parliament passed an Act regularising the law on the ban but the Government delayed its implementation to April this year. In a letter to NEMA, Mutagamba again suspended the ban, saying consultations were going on.

The minister has supported the manufacture of plastics on grounds that the ban would cause unemployment and loss of revenue. During the opening of a waste recycling plant at Quality Plastics in Industrial Area a day ahead of the ban, Mutagamba said the country lacks a waste management policy.

She said the Government should come up with a policy on all waste, which includes broken bottles, paper and scrap, instead of imposing a ban on plastic bags. Mutagamba reasoned that the Government should encourage investors in the sector to install recycling plants.

The indecision within the Government on the ban has provoked reactions from investors in alternative materials such as paper bags, environmental activists and Members of Parliament.