5.7 Applying the Polluter Pays Principle While Enforcing the Standards

The Draft National Environment Policy stipulates under Paragraph 76 that:

"As far as possible the preventive approach to the environmental problem shall be given top priority. Liability for environmental pollution shall not be
passed on. The polluter-pays principle shall be adopted and implemented deterrently. In principle it shall be the responsibility of those who pollute
to repair and bear the costs of pollution caused and rehabilitation, where appropriate."

It is in such a spirit depicted in the policy, that it is applicants requiring pollution licences must pay fees in accordance with the polluter pays principle upon issuance or renewal of a licence. The fees to be collected should provide a revenue base to the regulatory authority. The setting of the fees, however, should strike a balance between providing financial incentives to induce polluters to install pollution control technologies, or make it a means of generating revenues which will ultimately be used for environmental management.