Uncertainty over electricity projects as R. Muzizi dries up in Uganda

A boy wades across River Muzizi last week near the bridge connecting Kyenjojo and Kagadi districts. Water levels have dropped drastically. PHOTO BY FELIX BASIIME 


http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Uncertainty-electricity-projects--R-Muzizi-Lake-Albert/688334-4670270-m7lv8hz/index.html

THURSDAY JULY 19 2018

By FELIX BASIIME

KYENJOJO- The government has planned hydro power plants on River Muzizi that snakes through Mubende, Kyegegwa, Kibaale, Kagadi, Kyenjojo and Ntoroko districts before it empties into Lake Albert.

These projects are aimed at supporting rural electrification with a focus on reducing environmental degradation by the locals in the sub-region.

To achieve this, Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited (UEGCL) is developing the 48MW Muzizi Hydropower Project at the lower course of the Muzizi River in south east of Lake Albert.

The project across River Muzizi, which forms the border between Hoima and Ntoroko districts, is located approximately 10 kilometres south-west of Ndaiga Town in Hoima District.

It is estimated to cost 107 million Euros (Shs463.5 billion). The other two proposed hydro power plants on River Muzizi are the 3.1 MW Sogahi Hydropower Project in Kyarusozi Sub-county, Kyenjojo District and the 3.5MW project in Nyankwanzi Sub-county, also in Kyenjojo District.

However, all these good plans may remain on paper if there are no clear ways to first address the growing population pressure exerted on land that is forcing the people to encroach on the forests and wetlands.
Since these projects depend on the water flow into River Muzizi, they remain threatened as the water levels have drastically dropped. The government embarked on forceful evictions of encroachers from water catchment areas last month in Kyenjojo District. The exercise is ongoing.

Environmental degradation
However, there is a lot of environmental degradation from upstream to downstream of the river.
“The water levels on River Muzizi have reduced significantly, threatening government projects. I am calling upon the local people who are still encroaching on the wetlands to voluntarily vacate them and also the river banks,” Mr Isaac Kawonawo, the Kyenjojo Deputy Resident District Commissioner, says.

“When I was young, we used to cross River Muzizi with a boat from Kyenjojo to Kibaale. Now it’s no more, the river has dried up and even a young child can cross it on foot,” Mr William Kaija, the Kyenjojo District chairman recently told a multi-sectoral meeting at the recent launch of the restoration of Muzizi Wetland System.

In Kibaale District, Kanaga central reserve forest, which is part of the River Muzizi catchment area, is highly encroached on.

A walk inside the forest reveals makeshift structures covered with grass and old tarpaulins. These structures are occupied by encroachers.

One of the structures is owned by Ms Mediathese Ntamuhera, 36, who is one of hundreds of Rwandese nationals who have found soft landing in Uganda over several decades as they fled pressure on land in Rwanda.

Ms Ntamuhera is among several other Rwandese nationals and Ugandans from different parts of the country that have found Uganda forests and wetlands, especially those located in Bunyoro and Rwenzori sub-regions, a suitable place to settle.

But their settlement is posing a big threat to the environment as evidenced in change in weather patterns and a significant drop of water levels in many rivers, especially River Muzizi.

“I was born in Rwanda at Birungi, Nyamarundi where our family settled on a small piece of land and we were told that there is free land in Uganda. We left and entered Uganda through panya (shortcut) routes and came here in Kibaale about 18 years ago,” recalls Ms Ntamuhera.

According to the 2009 National Environmental Management Authority (Nema)’s report, in 1990 Uganda had more than five million hectares of forest cover but by 2005, only 3.5 million hectares (8.6 million acres) remained.

Nema warns that if deforestation continues at the present rate, Uganda will have lost all its forested land by 2050. Conservationists estimate that Bunyoro sub-region loses about 7,000 hectares of forests annually.
Deforestation and wetland encroachment problem cuts across the Albertine basin.

To curb this issue, a non-government organisation, Joint Effort to Save the Environment (JESE), has been formed.
JESE has established the Inter-district Multi Stakeholder Forestry and Environment Forum as a coordinating mechanism for promoting sustainable and better use of the environment and forestry, proper accountability and advocating increased investment in the natural resources sector in the three districts of Kyenjojo, Kyegegwa and Mubende.

Refugees
In the recent past, civil wars in the neighbouring Rwanda and DR Congo have forced many of their nationals to seek refuge in Uganda and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has settled hundreds at Rwamwanja, Kyangwali and Kyaka in Kamwenge, Hoima and Kyegegwa districts, respectively.

Ntoroko District, which is located downstream, has faced scarcity of water for the last three years.
The district is still waiting for the fulfilment of the Shs82 billion water project that was pledged by President Museveni in 2011 presidential campaigns.
This project too is being threatened by the recent drop in water levels in River Muzizi.

Hope

Recently, Nema together with the Kyenjojo local government officials, issued eviction orders to more than 300 encroachers in the wetlands and banks of River Muzizi.

Mr Bob Nuwagira, the Nema information officer, says with the support from the Environment Police Unit, the restoration of Muzizi Wetland System started last month.

“The restoration exercise which has been launched in Kyenjojo District will cover the critical catchment of the River Muzizi system spanning the districts of Kagadi, Kyegegwa, Kibale and Mubende.” Nuwagira says.

Key activities include the removal of illegal structures, plants and crops in wetlands, closing of drainage channels and evictions of people residing on the banks of River Muzizi.

“We are protecting the catchment such that we can restore the ecosystem services that such fragile ecosystems provide. Wetlands are important for weather modifications. At least 40 per cent of the rains we receive are influenced by local ecosystems such as wetlands, riverbanks and lakeshores,” he says.

Environmental police have been established at Masindi to monitor the whole region and enforce environment laws.

Conserving Environment

According to Nema, 79 per cent of the population is rural and depends directly on natural resources for its livelihoods while 90 per cent of the energy requirements come from natural resources.
More than 90 per cent of exports are natural resources based and more than 70 per cent of Uganda’s population are employed in the agricultural sector.

Article 237(2)(b) of the Constitution, states that central and local governments hold in trust and protect natural lakes, rivers, wetlands, forest reserves, game reserves, national parks and any land reserved for ecological or touristic purposes for the common good of all citizens.

Article 245 states that Parliament is mandated to make laws for the protection of the environment and natural resources.

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com

Lake Munyanyange in Uganda under threat

Cleared. Mr Nicholas Kagongo (left), a National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE) official in Kasese Sub-region, shows how the area has been cleared recently. PHOTO BY FELIX BASIIME  

THURSDAY MARCH 29 2018

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Lake-Munyanyange-under-threat/688334-4362206-nneqbf/index.html

In Summary

• Environmentalists have opposed the development and believe that if not stopped, their acts will threaten the existence of Lake Munyanyange, which is one of the top tourist attractions in the region.
• Mr Nicholas Kagongo, an official with National Association of Professional Environmentalists, said more than 100 euphorbia trees have been cut down on the north shoreline of Lake Munyanyange by Uganda Prisons.

By FELIX BASIIME

KASESE. Lake Munyanyange one of the four salty lakes in Kasese District, is under threat following the giveaway of part of its catchment areas to developers.
This follows the recent move by Katwe-Kabatooro Town Council to give away about 5 acres of land to Uganda Prisons.

The land is close to Lake Munyanyange, an international bird sanctuary, as well as a migratory location for the lesser flamingos from August to November every year.
The neighbouring Lake Katwe has a salt rock that lies on a contour line connecting Munyanyange, Nyamunuka and Kasenyi (Bunyampaka).

According to the regional prisons commander, Mr James Emotu, the urban authority opted to use Uganda Prisons land, which is also in Katwe-Kabatooro Town Council but far from the lakes in exchange with their land, which is in the low land near the lakes.

Mr Emotu said: “They (Urban authority) opted to use land where we are located, ours is on a hilly area and they relocated us to that place, which is about five acres. To that effect, we have started clearing the place.”
He added that the Uganda Prisons is clearing up the area to set up staff houses, a prison and a playground.

The Katwe-Kabatooro Town clerk, Mr Godwin Bihanikire, admitted to have given away part of the catchment area of Lake Munyanyange to prisons.
However, he was quick to add that they (prisons) could have gone beyond the point where they were allocated before promising to intervene.

Environmentalists have opposed the development and believe that if not stopped, their acts will threaten the existence of Lake Munyanyange, which is one of the top tourist attractions in the region.
Mr Nicholas Kagongo, an official with National Association of Professional Environmentalists, said more than 100 euphorbia trees have been cut down on the north shoreline of Lake Munyanyange by Uganda Prisons.

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com

Residents, investor clash over Kabarole crater lakes

Lake Kyaninga, one of the many crater lakes in Kabarole District. It and many others attract tourists all year round, who come to bask in the beauty they present. Photo by Felix Basiime 

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Residents--investor-clash-Kabarole-crater-lakes-/688334-4323926-p1meyxz/index.html

THURSDAY MARCH 1 2018

In Summary

• Concern. Residents say the decision to give Ferdsult Engineering Company exclusive rights to fish from the crater lakes is unconstitutional.

By FELIX BASIIME & ALEX ASHABA

KABAROLE.

Mr James Rukampena, a farmer, no longer earns from growing maize and beans as he is lame and walks on crutches.
Mr Rukampena, a resident of Mwitampungu Village in Kasenda Sub-county, Kabarole District, who used to earn Shs1 million a month from farming, was allegedly shot by guards of Ferdsult Engineering Company while in his banana plantation that is a few metres away from Mwitampungu crater lake.

“One day, while I was moving around my gardens, I met three policemen with guns and they asked whether I had seen people who were carrying out fishing in the crater lake,” he narrates.
“I said I had not seen any and they went ahead to ask me if I had made a will for my children and I kept quiet. One of the police men said can you sit down, and in a moment he shot both of my legs,” he adds.
Mr Rukampena and other residents that depend on the 52 crater lakes in the district for a livelihood had high hopes in 2013 that Ferdsault Engineering Company would change their lives through its corporate social responsibility.

“When we heard that there is an investor who had come to develop our crater lakes, we were happy, knowing that our area was going to develop because they promised us many things such as electricity, schools and better roads,” Mr Rukampena says, adding that little did he know that he would lose his leg in the land wrangles later.
He has since been nursing wounds in different hospitals until last year when his leg was amputated at Kilembe hospital in Kasese District.
“I was helped by the community members in my village who took me to Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital until I was referred to Kilembe Hospital where my leg was amputated at a cost of Shs300,000 paid by Twerwaneho Listeners Club, non-governmental organisation,” he says.

Effect
He says his children have since dropped out of school because of lack of school fees.
“I no longer do farming as I used to do. Now my wife is in charge of every responsibility in the family. I am just seated, watching,” Mr Rukampena says.
Since the incident which occurred in September 2016, he says the company has never compensated him but that it instead blamed him for the incident. He now wants government to look after his family and the company to stop its activities in the district.
Mr Rukampena is not the only one suffering the consequences of the investment agreement between Ferdsault Engineering Company and Kabarole District administration.
In Kichwamba Sub-county where Saka Crater Lake is located, residents accuse the company’s guards of beating them up.
“In 2015, we were told by Mr Charles Busingye, the sub-county chairperson, and other local leaders that the lake was bought by Ferdsult Engineering Company, said Mr John Owomukama, a resident of Buhara Village, which neighbours the lake.

“Since then, we have been facing challenges such as being beaten by security guards of the company and we have not had peace,” he adds.
Mr Owomukama says they have been depending on the lake for fishing and water for domestic use.
He adds that the company had promised to construct for them good roads, extend electricity and clean water but up to now, none of the promises has been fulfilled.
Ms Annette Kemigisa, another resident, says the company has been terrorising the community by beating up their children confiscating their animals, fishing nets and boats.
Another resident, Mr Boaz Irumba, says his wife eloped with one of the company’s security guards and she left him with young children that he is looking after.
The company directors were not immediately available for a comment. However, in 2016, the residents together with Twerwaneho Listeners Club, a human rights non-governmental organisation operating in the district, successfully sued Kabarole District authorities, Ferdsult Engineering Services and the Attorney General. 

The applicants asked court to terminate the company’s and declare its activities illegal, unlawful and a violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Constitution.
In 2015, the district had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ferdsult Engineering Services, in which they were given exclusive rights to fish in the crater lakes for 30 years. However, area residents contested the move.
In his ruling, Justice Anthony Oyuko Ojok cancelled the MoU after finding that the rights of the fishing communities were infringed on.

LAND PROBE’S ROLE

Last week, the Justice Catherine Bamugemereire-led Commission of Inquiry into land matters heard that Ferdsult Engineering Company was operating illegally in Kabarole District. The commission found that the documents Ferdsult tendered in to defend itself before the commission were forgeries and had no permit to operate in the district.
Justice Bamugemereire ordered for the arrest of the company proprietor, Mr Ferdinand Mugisha, for further investigations. The commission also found Ferdsult was operating on the lakes without environmental and social impact assessments.

Nabukeera earning from 3-acre land

Rehema Nabukeera milks 30 litres of milk from her cows everyday. PHOTO by alex ashaba. 

http://www.monitor.co.ug/Magazines/Farming/Nabukeera-earning-from-3-acre-land/689860-4354268-dd1cqd/index.html

SUNDAY MARCH 25 2018

In Summary

·         Rehema Nabukeera harvests the fish after seven months and sells each tilapia at Shs10,000. She also has a banana plantation and dairy cows. On average, the farmer gets 30 litres of milk per day, writes Alex Ashaba & Felix Basiime.

By Alex Ashaba & Felix Basiime

Rehema Nabukeera’s three-acre farm in Kanyambeho Village, Kiko Town Council in Kabarole District, is the envy of the community because of the various agribusiness ventures she engages in.
Eight years ago after dropping out of school in Senior Four, Nabukeera decided to try her luck in smallscale mixed farming.

The 32-year old farmer grows bananas, vegetables, rears cows and keeps fish.
Nabukeera was busy inspecting her banana plantation and fish pond when Seeds of Gold arrived for the interview.
At 10am, the cows were already feeding while some had already fed and were resting under trees in the farm.
She says she decided to concentrate on fish keeping, dairy production and banana farming after realising that she was putting a lot time and resources on vegetables but at the end of the day she earned less.

Banana 
“I have to deliver the banana at the market. Demand is high because of the rainy season,” she explains.
The type of bananas, Nabukeera grows include nakyetengu, nakabululu, kisansa, ntika, sukaali ndiizi (apple banana) and plantains among others.
“With the little money from relatives and friends, I started farming sometime in 2010 after dropping out of school,” Nabukeera recounts, saying she started with two enterprises – banana farming and fish keeping.

Onions, tomatoes and egg plants are some of the vegetables she moved to later as she expanded her agribusiness. She grows the vegetables at the backyard of her kitchen.
“There was good market for the vegetables in Kiko Town and still is. I would deliver my produce to specific families earning Shs150,000 in a good week,” explains Nabukeera.
She sells the bananas from Shs10,000 to Shs12,000 each depending on the variety and size to schools, individuals and markets in Kiko and Fort Portal.

Fishing 
Next to a village stream, Nabukeera has 300 square-metre fish pond that normally hosts 1,000 tilapia and catfish at any time.
She started the fish business after a series of training by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries.
The farmer feeds the fish on pellets that she buys at Shs54,000 per 50 kilogramme bag in Fort Portal. She supplements the feeds with earth worms and fertilises the pond with dried chicken droppings and cow dung.
The farmer harvests the fish after seven months and sells each tilapia at Shs10,000 while catfish goes between Shs18,000 to Shs22,000.

Cows 
Nabukeera is also in dairy production having bought three fresian cows at Shs1.5m each three years ago. On average she obtains about 30 litres of milk per day (20 in the morning and 10 in the evening). She sells each litre at Shs1,200. 
“There is a ready market for my milk locally, but my main outlet is the hotel in our major town. I also sell to the needy population and because of the quality of my milk it sells like hotcake,” he says.
To feed her cows, Nabukeera had to set aside half an acre to grow fodder such as napier grass. 
Her cattle are kept in a zero-grazing unit which is more economical and allows for easy disease and pests control. Sometimes she tethers the cows in the neighbourhood. 
Nabukeera told Seeds of Gold that for one to succeed in dairy farming, you need to ensure there is enough water and feeds for the cattle.

Future plans
Nabukeera plans to construct another five fish ponds at her home and introduce different fish species and buy more cows to increase her income.
“If I get more money say a grant from government, I will make sure that I have more ponds and also start dairy production and get more training to venture in different businesses that will increase my earning,” she says.

Advice 
Nabukeera says while mixed farming is beneficial, a farmer risks burning out as he or she spreads their resources such as time, money and labour to the limit.
“One should plan carefully lest this kind of farming turns out to be a burden as the farmer may be unable to maximise productivity. There is also a challenge with diseases, which may spread from one crop to another, but overally, this kind of farming is better than mono farming.”

Farmers demand tea regulatory authority

On the farm. Farmers harvest tea leaves at Mpanga Tea Farm in Kabarole District. PHOTO BY ALEX ASHABA 

THURSDAY MAY 31 2018

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Farmers-demand-tea-regulatory-authority/688334-4587568-73ikfhz/index.html

In Summary

·         Annually, Uganda earns about $90-100 million from tea and the crop is one of the country’s traditional exports. The industry employs over 62,000 people and supporting more than 500,000 dependents in Uganda.
Tea is largely grown along the Lake Victoria crescent, the lower slopes of the Rwenzori Mountain and above the western rift valley.

By FELIX BASIIME

KYENJOJO/KABAROLE. Tea farmers in Tooro Sub-region are lobbying government to institute an independent tea regulatory authority to check tea standards.
The authority, if instituted, would also advocate for better regulatory policies that would protect tea farmers from exploitation by middlemen.
Tooro region is the land of tea, commonly referred to as the ‘Green Gold’, one of the most delicious and sought after teas in the world.
Tea is grown in the deep, rich and well-watered soils that are unique to the region.

Farmers say middle men pay them about Shs250 per kilo of green leaf, which is lower than what factories pay (between Shs400 and Shs600) after two weeks. This, the farmers say, has compromised the quality of tea since some farmers sell substandard and immature tea leaves to earn quick cash.
Mr John Kyomya, a tea farmer in Kyenjojo District, says: “We want government to help us by forming a tea regulatory authority so that the quality of tea supplied to factories is not compromised mainly by the middle men.”
He adds: “Because farmers want quick cash, they end up picking poor quality tea with grass and other shrubs and sell it to middlemen.”
The international tea standards require a farmer to supply tea leaves while still fresh and without other plants.

The farmers say although middlemen pay in time, they are cheated because they buy from them cheaply yet they sell the tea exorbitantly.
President Museveni in 2016 said his government had set interventions to improve the market of the Ugandan tea.
Among the interventions, he said, he had talked to Arab countries to buy Ugandan tea and promised to extend subsidies like fertilisers to farmers.
In Tooro and in the whole of western Uganda, at least 200,000 people earn their living by plucking the green leaves.
They earn between Shs10,000 and Shs20,000 each on average per day depending on the kilos one has plucked.

Farmers and companies pay between Shs100 to Shs120 per kilo of plucked green tea per day from morning up to midday.
The temperate climate allows tea to flourish from the lush plantations as it is harvested throughout the year.
The tea from the farm is of good quality, has a soothing and pleasant taste and is of a rich brown colour.
According to Mr Kasoro Atwooki, a tea farmer and a board member of Mabale Growers’ Tea Factory Ltd in Kyenjojo District, tea is the majority export from Tooro Sub-region, followed by coffee.

All this has attracted investors, who have set up six tea factories in Kabarole and four in Kyenjojo districts, while others have set up tea nursery beds as a business to supply tea plantlets to farmers in the western region.
Mabale Tea Factory, one of the four factories in Kyenjojo District is an outgrowers-based plant. It is owned by about 3,600 farmers, who are shareholders following the privatisation of public enterprises in Uganda in the 1990s.
About 6,000 tea farmers in Kyenjojo and Kabarole districts, who earn between Shs2 million and Shs3 million monthly depending on the size of their plantations, supply green tea to the factory, according to Mr Kasoro.
“Each farmer employs more than five workers and each household in these districts has more than 12 people,” he adds.

Overproduction
According to Ms Sylvia Rwabwogo, a tea farmer in Kyenjojo, they produce more tea than what the factories around can consume.
Without any tea estates of its own, Mabale Tea Factory produces three million kilogrammes of tea in two months, which is about 10 per cent of Uganda’s annual tea export, to the world market.
Speaking to tea farmers at Mabale Tea Factory recently, Col John Anywar, the director of tea, coffee and cocoa under the Operation Wealth Creation programme assured the farmers and processors that he would table their views to his boss, Gen Salim Saleh.

Annually, Uganda earns about $90-100 million from tea and the crop is one of the country’s traditional exports. The industry employs over 62,000 people and supporting more than 500,000 dependents in Uganda.
Tea is largely grown along the Lake Victoria crescent, the lower slopes of the Rwenzori Mountain and above the western rift valley.

Tea in Uganda

Introduction. Tea was first introduced in Uganda in 1909, but commercial cultivation didn’t begin until the late 1920’s.

Decline. But in the 1970s, tea productions nearly stopped due to war, economic upheaval, and the government’s expulsion of many Asian-owned tea estate farmers.

The return. In the early 1980s, British businessman and entrepreneur, Mitchell Cotts returned to Uganda and formed the Toro and Mityana Tea Co.(Tametco), a joint venture with the government.

This move increased tea production from 1,700 tonens in 1981 to 5,600 tonnes in 1985 yet production was far less than the peak amount of 22,000 tons in 1974, and even began to decline again slightly after 1985.

Consumption. In the world today, tea stands out to be one among the most consumed popular beverages.

Blessed Uganda. With its temperate climate and rich soil, Uganda grows some of the world’s top quality tea.

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com