Government has dismissed allegations that it is contemplating to hire private lawyers to assist in the case in which it is struggling to enforce a ban on the production, distribution and importation of thin plastic bags.

Speaking to YFM, Spokesperson for the department of climate change in the ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining, Sangwani Phiri, said despite allowing stakeholders willing to join the case, the ministry will continue pursuing the case using lawyers from the ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

Recently, the High Court in Blantyre lifted the ban on thin plastic bags which the government obtained in June, after Aero Plastics Industries, Rainball Plastics and 12 other companies successfully challenged the dismissal of a judicial review on the ban.

The ruling followed another ruling by the same court in June allowing the government to proceed with the ban on the use, sale, production, exportation and importation of plastic bags.

Government’s ban on plastic bags of less than 60 microns came into effect on June 30, 2015.

Environmentalists promote the use thick plastics which are environmental friendly as they can be re-used.