ROAD TO 2016: Kabarole expects a two-horse race between Businge and Mutuzo

Victoria Businge Rusoke

Peace Ragis Mutuzo

 

Sylvia Rwabwogo

Helen Kasande

 

PHOTOS BY FELIX BASIIME 

By Felix Basiime

Posted  Saturday, November 29   2014  (http://www.monitor.co.ug/SpecialReports/Kabarole-expects-a-two-horse-race-between-Businge-a/-/688342/2537998/-/crwomu/-/index.html)

IN SUMMARY

Seemingly an NRM stronghold, Kabarole’s political success determinant is a cocktail of money, political affiliation and views of opinion leaders. The Woman MP seat is one of those that will prove if NRM is still popular in this district.

Kabarole- In Kabarole District, an interesting sub-plot is emerging where the Woman MP Victoria Businge Rusoke race is likely to tussle it out with four other contestants in the 2015 NRM primaries as the first hurdle to jump in a bid to retain a seat she easily won in 2016.

This seat was first warmed by Ms Joan Kakima Rwabyomere before Beatrice Kiraso came in through a by-election in 1996 and run it for two terms before she threw in the towel and Ms Margaret Mugisa Muhanga Abwooli found a gap to fill in 2006.

Much as the voting has tended to maintain NRM dominance, elections in Tooro have been determined by socio-cultural, economic and political factors in the past. This time round, a combination of other factors are at play including party affiliation, the former premier Amama Mbabazi factor, individual merit, ethnicity, religion and service delivery.

Also, the existance of very many opinion leaders, and money will also be a determinant because of the poverty levels.

Asked whether people would again choose candidates based on party affiliation or individual merit, Ms Nyakato Rusoke, the FDC secretary for women in Kabarole District, said: “None of those will count for voters; politics in Uganda has completely changed. The NRM party has highly commercialised elections to the extent that now people follow money not the best candidate addressing issues or choose on party affiliation.”

However, Mr Yakubu Gowoni, an opinion leader who was delegated powers to hold the docket of the party’s chairperson in Kabarole, disagrees. “Party affiliation and the dominating person of President Museveni in Tooro region, particularly Kabarole, will again affect the result of the vote,” he insists.
Evidence from past elections show that the NRM enjoys overwhelming support and representation in Kabarole and Tooro at large. As such, the Opposition is likely to find it difficult to breakthrough in 2016. In 1996, President Museveni got 97 per cent of the votes cast. In 2001, he got 89 per cent then 87 per cent in 2006.

The victory determinants
“This is definitely an NRM area where there has always been landslide victories from local to national level. Party affiliation and the person of Museveni takes precedence here than any other factor,” says Gowon, adding: “Services takes number two, individual merit and then money last. Here, few people follow the money to decide who to vote for unlike their counterparts in urban settings.”

However, the LC I chairman in Karambi Sub-county thinks there has been a slight shift. He says all village chairpersons in Karambi met last month and resolved that they will mobilise for any candidate who brings money.

“We voted for the MPs and asked them to push government to raise our monthly allowances but to our surprise the first thing the MPs did in Parliament was to raise their personal pay, they are very selfish,” one of the LCI chairpersons, who preferred anonymity, told Saturday Monitor.

Ms Joan Kebirungi, a resident in Fort Portal, believes that the Mbabazi factor will trickle down and will affect the voting pattern both at national and local levels ahead of the 2016 elections.

“This is very clear, whether Mbabazi stands for presidency or not, his factor in the current politics will definitely affect the voting pattern in Uganda starting with the NRM primaries in 2015 up to the national level,” Kebirungi says, reasoning that: “People are just quiet but will choose some candidates basing on the Museveni-Mbabazi factor, the differences are there [though] very silent.”

Meanwhile, Mr Patrick Baguma, an opinion leader, says: “people in Kabarole tend to vote for candidates who they think are close to Museveni but not NRM, however, here ethnicity and religion are the other factors. The Bafuruki (Immigrants) have higher numbers than Batooro and tend to vote as a bloc that is why people like MP Kagwera (Burahya) will remain in Parliament until he retires”.

Although four aspirants have declared to stand against the incumbent, political watchers in Kabarole say it will be a two-horse race between the incumbent and Peace Mutuzo, senior private secretary in charge of welfare in State House.

Ms Nyakato Rusoke, the FDC secretary for women, indicates that her party is yet to decide whether it will field a candidate in this race. “FDC is yet to decide whether it will participate in the 2016 elections until the push for electoral reforms is effected,” Ms Nyakato said. “It is still early now for FDC to say we shall field a candidate for any position.”

The incumbent’s contribution
Ms Rusoke counts her lobbying for President Museveni’s support to Saccos in Kabarole, distributing culverts to different sub counties, lobbying for a tractor and heifers for Tooro babies home from First Lady Janet Museveni. She has supported education too, buying examination printing machines for schools in the district.

But Ms Mutuzo, Rusoke’s biggest challenger, is busy donating coffee seedlings to farmers and has organised some women and youth groups into self-reliance projects such as apiary. She says she is doing this in phases in Bunyangabu, later in Burahya and Fort Portal municipality.

“My survey so far is that families in Bunyangabu use three jerrycans of contaminated water per day instead of the required eight, they live on Bilharzia tablets.

They spend so much more on firewood, I have trained the locals in simple technology to tap safe rain water, use energy saving stoves, engage in baking, brick laying, soap making and bio gas,” says Mutuzo.
 

But Helen Kasande points at what she calls poor service delivery as the reason she is offering herself for election.

“There is poor mobilisation of women in this district if you compare it with other districts like Mbarara; the youth here don’t have jobs, there is no programme to cater for the youths who never went to school,” says Kasande.

In that respect, Kabarole is not very different from other constituencies around the country, but it still stands out as the one area where the President Museveni’s personality could still tilt the balance.

Who is likely to contest for Kabarole Woman MP seat?

Peace Ragis Mutuzo. Holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration and Management from Uganda Management Institute (UMI); Makerere University bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and a Diploma in Education at Bishop Stuart from NTC, Kakoba. At Bishop Stuart, she was elected guild president.
Before President Museveni put her in charge of Youth (National) in 2005, she was an assistant private secretary in charge of the Youth (Western).

Ms Mutuzo was promoted to senior private secretary in charge of welfare in State House in 2008.

Nestor Basemera. Holds a diploma in education from Bishop Stuart NTC Kakoba and a Kyambogo University Bachelor’s in Education. Worked at Mountains of the Moon University and Makerere University as a teaching assistant and at Nyakasura School as a senior woman.

Sylvia Rwabwogo. Is a journalist plying her trade at Hits Fm in Fort Portal town. Is deputy speaker for Kabarole council and a councillor representing East Division.

She advocates for women emancipation through her radio programme and also encourages people to work hard for the development of their families. 
Holds a diploma in journalism and a Bachelor’s degree in Social and Community Development from Mountains of the Moon University.

Helen Kasande. Is the human resource manager at Mpanga tea grower’s factory. 
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Makerere University; a diploma in community-based rehabilitation from Kyambogo University; diploma in human resource management from UMI, and a certificate in administrative law.

Victoria Businge-Rusoke. A first term MP, the Kabarole Woman representative holds a Master of Education from Makerere University (2001), Bachelor of Education, Makerere University (1991), Diploma in teacher education from Institute of Teacher Education, Kyambogo (1986), Grade II teacher certificate, Makerere University (1980), East African certificate of education, 1977.

Was District Education Officer, Kabarole from 2003 to 2010; head teacher Kalinaabiri Primary School February to July 2003; head teacher Old Kampala Primary School 1997 to 2002; head teacher City Primary School 1994 to 1995; deputy head teacher Nakasero Primary School 1991 to 1993; tutor Kibuli TTC 1986 to 1990 and teacher Shimoni Demonstration School 1980 to 1985.
She sits on Parliament’s committee on Tourism, Trade and Industry and on the Appointments Committee.

What Uganda government can do to solve floods in Ntoroko district

Children in a submerged hut in Budiba in Ntoroko District. Floods are a chronic problem in Ntoroko. Photo by Ruth Katusabe

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Thanks-for-relief-items--but-fix-flooding-too---Ntoroko-leaders/-/688334/2516056/-/view/printVersion/-/gm9ee0/-/index.html

In Summary

Demand. Ntoroko leaders have demanded that government should find ways of stopping rampant flooding in the district, that displaces hundreds of people every year and destroys property. They say providing relief items such as food, tents, blankets and jerricans is not enough, writes Felix Basiime and Ruth Katushabe

On Saturday night, November 1 Ms Sofia Byanjeru, 50, a resident of Budiba Sub-county in Ntoroko District awoke to a wet bed.

At first she thought her children had wetted her bed but to her shock she realised floods had submerged her house.

“The whole house was full of water to about two feet above the ground,” Byanjeru says, adding “I made an alarm and fled with all family members for our dear lives. Other people in the neighbourhood had started to escape, so we were ferried on a canoe to Budiba centre and we had to pay Shs 1,000 per person.”

Ms Byanjeru is among the more than 5,000 people in Ntoroko who were last week displaced by floods caused when rivers Lamia and Semliki bust their banks.

The floods destroyed houses, roads, crops and killed several livestock and poultry.
The affected areas include: Budiba, Kanara, Bweramule, Butungama and parts of Rwebisengo Town Council.

The floods compelled at least 474 Primary Seven candidates in Ntoroko District to do their Primary Leaving Examinations in tents after some classrooms and roads were submerged.

Floods are a chronic problem in Ntotoko which plague the district every rainy season, displacing hundreds of people and leaving a trail destruction.

Every time floods occur houses are damaged; crops destroyed and roads are rendered impassable, hindering education, livelihoods and provision of social services.

According to environmentalists and Ntoroko residents, the flood waters this time came in bigger volumes. Environmentalists say this is an indicator of increased environment degradation upstream of River Semliki and downstream in Ntoroko.

Ntoroko officials have called upon the government to go beyond providing relief items such as food, tents and blankets to flood victims as it always does whenever floods occur in the district, and find ways of stopping the floods.

The district chairperson, Mr Timothy Kyamanywa, recently told Vice President Edward Ssekandi: “We are tired of getting relief aid every year whenever the district is affected by floods. So find other means of stopping these floods because government is spending much to get relief aid for the affected people.”

Almost every year, the State Minister for Disaster Preparedness, Mr Musa Ecweru, visits Ntoroko to deliver relief items to the people affected by both floods and drought.

Government and other bodies such as the Red Cross have done this for the last four years since the area is affected by floods in rainy seasons and by drought in dry seasons.

The district environment officer, Mr Herbert Kamuhanda, explains that there are a combination of factors that bring About the floods.

He says uncontrolled human activities causes River Semliki to bust its banks.
Mr Herbert adds that glaciers on Mount Rwenzori are melting more rapidly due to climate change, thereby releasing more water to the streams that feed River Semliki.
 

“Other waters stream into the Semliki valley, part of the Western Rift Valley causing floods,” he says.
Environment experts say overgrazing, and other alterations to the watershed have caused bank erosion and frequent changes to the course of River Semliki.
 

Mr Kamuhanda says: “Most rivers: Lamia, Ndugutu, Nyahuka, Ngite and Kirumia (all in 

Bundibugyo) are watered by the glaciers on Mount Rwenzori and all empty into River Semliki.
There are several human activities causing flooding and the changing course of River Semliki.”
 

He adds: “At Rwamabare, Kakahenda village in Ntoroko District, water flows to the communities due to siltation of River Semliki. Upstream in Bundibugyo, people cultivate on the river banks and mine sand. At Ntandi (also in Bundibugyo), people throw waste into River Kirumia which is a middle stream of River Semliki causing siltation and the river bed rises causing banks to bust”.
 

Mr Kamuhanda says at Rukora in Bweramure (Ntoroko), there has been over stocking of animals on free range system and the pastoralists have created several watering points on the river banks causing siltation leading to the river changing its course.
 

He adds that at Masaka in Butungama and at Kiranga in Rwebisengo Sub-county, people dig channels to divert water from River Semliki to water their animals or catch fish and when the river busts its banks, these channels lead water to the communities.
 

According to research conducted by the Climate Change Unit and the Ministry of Water, 198.5 hectares of ice disappeared between 1906 and 2006 on Mount Speke, one of the highest peaks on the Rwenzori range. Most of the melting occurred after 1987.
 

Ntoroko officials and environment experts have proposed several solutions to address the flood problem, including building a dam to store the excess water from River Semliki during the rainy season and using it during the dry season.
 

“It is very costly but the excess water can be tapped and dammed and used during the dry season,” Mr Kamuhanda says.
 

Hydrological and climate change experts advise that something must be done to address siltation and climate change in the catchment areas of River Semliki to control flooding downstream.
 

“River bank regulation must be enforced, especially in Ntoroko District where the law requires 100 metres protection zone where there must be minimal human activities to allow natural rejuvenation,” says Mr Jeconious Musingwiire, the western region National Environment Management Authority awareness officer.
 

He adds: “Flooding is mainly contributed by siltation, so siltation should be controlled and to tame the effects of climate change, the whole catchment area where this river drains from must promote afforestation.” The recent floods despite disrupting PLE exams and displacing hundreds of people, have brought some fortune too.
 

Fish from River Semliki have ended up in shallow flood waters in areas far away from the river where several people catch them easily and sell them at affordable prices to displaced people.
 

A big fish goes for between Shs15,000 and Shs20,000.
Some youth have taken advantage of the floods to make money through offering transport services on their canoes.
 

They charge Shs1,000 per person for the shortest distance.

River Semliki

Semliki River flows northwards from Lake Edward in the Democratic Republic of the Congo across the Uganda border, through western Uganda in Bundibugyo and Ntoroko districts near the Semliki National Park. It empties its water into Lake Albert.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, the Semliki catchment area is under a lot of pressure due to increasing population and poor management of natural resources. 

Deforestation and uncontrolled cattle grazing is leading to widespread erosion.
This, together with the melting of ice on the Mount Rwenzori, a result of climate change, has resulted in siltation, affecting water quality and changing the river course significantly over the years as it enters Lake Albert.

Ntoroko District

District: Ntoroko District is located west of the Rwenzori Mountains. It was carved out of Bundibugyo District in 2010.
 

It is bordered by the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, Hoima District to the northeast, Kibaale District to the east, Kabarole District to the south and Bundibugyo District to the southwest. 

Economy: Its major economic activities are fishing, farming and business. Cattle and goat rearing is in Rwebisengo and Nombe, crop farming in Karugutu, Butungama and Bweramule while fishing in Kanara.
 

Flood woes: According to the district chairman, Mr Timothy Kyamanywa, the floods have stretched the district budget and resources by increasing the cost of containing malaria, especially among the children and malaria drugs are running out.

A year later, Kasese still grappling with floods menace

A resident wading through the floods on August 19, 2014 in Karusandara in Kasese district after his house was submerged in water. Photo by Moris Mumbere

By ENID NINSIIMA & FELIX BASIIME

Posted Sunday, August 17   2014 [http://www.monitor.co.ug/SpecialReports/A-year-later--Kasese-still-grappling-with-floods-menace/-/688342/2421234/-/item/0/-/sg9ny/-/index.html]

In Summary

Time bomb. Kasese District environment officer says there are indicators that they can be hit by the floods any time given the volumes of water they are experiencing.

KASESE.

It is exactly one year and three months since Kasese District was devastated by flash floods, and the authorities are still unsure of what next as the sky opens up again.
Both local leaders and residents are wondering why government has not bothered to come to their rescue as the rainy season starts this month.

Kasese was hit with two devastating floods on May 1 2013 and May 8 2014 which left close to 20 people dead, others injured while several people were displaced from their homes.
The Kasese District environment officer, Mr Augustine Kooli, is worried that the district may be hit by yet another flood this month, saying it is the beginning of the long rainy season.
“Though we have not contacted the meteorology office to know the amounts of rainfall we are likely to receive this season, there are clear indicators that any time we can be hit by the floods, given the volume of water we are experiencing now,” Kooli said.

More complicated

The environment officer added that issues of floods in Kasese cannot be solved by mere de-silting (removal of soil and waste materials) from the river -- which government has started by putting up gabions (large square containers in which rocks are packed) and retainer walls to control and redirect the water.

“It is true government has released some money for de-silting, but I do not know the amount. But this will not solve our problem. Remember river erosion and deposition is carried out under the normal hydraulic verbosity and gradient is either the same or equal,” Kooli said.

What Kooli means is that the volume and speed of the river is always the same, even if it is de-silted, the river will still carry and deposit objects. He says instead of de-silting the river first, government would have placed gabions so that the boulders removed are put behind them and this would have worked better other than removing soil that will be brought back anytime.

The environment officer advised the government that the issue of human activities alongside the river banks must be tackled seriously if the problem of floods is to be handled at length.
“We need to respect the river banks by stopping all human activities like cultivation, constructions and sand mining which weaken the river,” he said.

A resident of Kilembe valley, Dr John Baluku, told this paper that people in the area have continued to drink contaminated water ever since the pipes collapsed last year during the first floods.

Jetress Kabugho, who lost a brother during the first floods at Kilembe, blamed leaders for not implementing the presidential directive to submit the names of the affected families so that they could be helped.

“It is now a year down the road since our loved ones died in the disaster, but to date no single leader has ever come to us to take the particulars of the affected families and we wonder why,” Kabugho said.

Alex Kwatampora, the project manager Tibet Hima Company Limited, which took over Kilembe Mines Ltd, says they spend more than Shs 2 million daily on the de-silting and rechanneling of the river.

Kwatampora said Kilembe Hospital has had some renovations but that the security at the facility is at stake since the fence was washed away and some water still passes some few meters to Toto Ward.
He noted that some temporary bridge was being put up at Kyanjuki that connects Kilembe mines offices with the rest of the area.

However, the Kasese Municipality mayor, Mr Godfrey Kabyanga, says the district needs heavy machines to re-channel River Nyamwamba, otherwise the district could be sitting on a time bomb.
Kasese District has been hit by floods every year for nearly the last five years, leading to loss of lives and property, but the magnitude of the damage caused by the large volumes of water has increased since May 1, 2013.

In May, government said it needed Shs 30 billion to de-silt River Nyamwamba to stop the bursting of its banks.

There are several other rivers emanating from the Rwenzori mountain ranges that also burst their banks. And as such, some environmental and hydrological experts say the situation could be experienced for the next two years or so.

“The climate change phenomenon is always after a long period of time like 10 years; by happening last year does not mean that it will not happen again in a subsequent years. The challenges are expected to be around for two years,” said Jeconious Musingwiire, the western region focal person and public awareness officer for the National Environment Management Authority.

“The challenges are trans-boundary as some come from the Democratic Republic of Congo as the Rwenzori ranges spread far from the Uganda border,” Musingwiire adds.

Solution

Musingwiire says the best solution is to promote integrated water resources management through enhancement of natural vegetation cover by tree planting, restoration of degraded sections of bare grounds and critical river line wetlands, and promotion of soil and water conservation structures in the agricultural fields.

He says there is a need to enforce the environmental laws, especially on observing the regulated area of 30 metres around the river banks to allow the stabilisation of the banks and to allow natural vegetation infiltration and stop the speeding water that eats up the river banks.

“To achieve this, we need to bring all stakeholders on board and allow participatory planning and implementation, especially in the enforcement of laws,” says Musingwiire.
Last week River Nyamwamba had a discourse, destroying blocks at Bulembia School and the head offices of Kilembe Mines Limited.

Currently the river flows along the recently renovated Kyanzuki road, about 100 meters from its original course.

About Mt Rwenzori region

Rivers Nyamwamba, Rwimi, Mobuku, Ssebore, Lhubiriha, Mpanga, Nyamugasani among others, and several streams flow from Mt Rwenzori and most of them empty into Lake George, among other water bodies.

People living on the slopes of the mountain basically practice poor farming methods, thus causing soil erosion and numerous landslides. Deforestation is another major problem facing the mountain ranges.

More than 90 per cent of the communities living on the mountain slopes depend on firewood for fuel, leading to extensive destruction of forests, letting floods in the low lands and global warming as the glaciers have been greatly affected and are disappearing steadily.

Govt approves recovery plan

Cabinet noted the magnitude of destruction that had occurred as a result of heavy rains which caused floods in Kasese District on May 1, 2013, and directed the ministry of Finance to avail funds amounting to Shs39b to facilitate the relocation and resettlement of people in all areas that were highly prone to landslides and floods.

Therefore, the Kasese District Disaster Recovery plan 2014/2015 is a comprehensive response to the recovery needs of the affected areas and surrounding communities by reducing their vulnerability and enhancing their resilience to possible disasters of a similar nature.

The recovery plan also aims at reducing vulnerabilities and enhancing the resilience of the district and its populace. The recovery plan takes cognisance of the prioritised needs of the affected communities arising out of the local consultations.

It will also promote recovery of Kasese after floods, rebuild and promote business, restore people’s livelihoods and build their resilience to disasters and enhance early warning systems.
By Information minister, Rose Namayanja (August 14)