Government moves to cool locals’ tempers over oil drilling in Queen Elizabeth park

In the spotlight. Queen Elizabeth National Park. Government has explained the process it will take before issuing oil exploration licences for the Ngaji block in the park. PHOTO BY ERIC DOMINIC BUKENYA 

FRIDAY MAY 10 2019

https://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Government-moves-cool-tempers-oil-drilling-Queen-Elizabeth-park/688334-5108216-12uqp47/index.html

In Summary

·         Concern. Environmentalists worry they will lose the ecosystem while fishermen fear for their source of livelihood.

By FELIX BASIIME & MISAIRI THEMBO KAHUNGU

KASESE/KANUNGU. The government has explained the process it will take before issuing oil exploration licences for the Ngaji block in the Queen Elizabeth National Park, where surrounding communities and some civil society organisations (CSOs) are trying to put up a spirited defence of the ecosystem.

The Ngaji block is an oil and gas exploration area around Lake Edward, on the side of Kasese and Kanungu.
The area is adjacent to the Virunga National Park in DR Congo. It is a world heritage site and forms part of the same continuous ecosystem.”

Currently, there is a petition raised by environmentalists and fishermen expressing fear for the environment and fishermen losing their source of livelihood.
The permanent secretary in the Ministry of Energy, Mr Robert Kasande, in an interview, however, said it is too early to raise the red flag over the planned exploration.

Mr Kasande said the people raising the petition need to first visit Murchison Falls National Park to confirm any kind of environmental issues the exploration caused on the side of Nwoya District before seeking to block it in Queen Elizabeth National Park.

“It is preliminary for anybody to put such a petition because we have not yet put that area for exploration licensing. If you go to Murchison, you will be able to see that nothing bad happened there,” he said.
Mr Kasande said when the ministry sets out an exploration area for licensing, sensitisation meetings would be held in the affected areas.

Mr Jeconious Musingwire, the south-western regional officer for National Environmental Management Authority (Nema), said: “Geological process of oil normally affects water, but licensing moves in phases, there will be public hearings where there is an issue raised, it will be considered, all stakeholders must be consulted, Nema has to license after a scientific research has been done.”

The activists, who include members of Kasese Youth and Women Clean Energy Clubs and a local CSO, contend that this area is a world heritage site and forms part of same continuous ecosystem.
They said if oil exploitation is carried out, it will affect the ecosystems and render fishermen jobless yet it is uncertain that the oil industry would offer them jobs.

Some of the activists of the CSO are linked to Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO), which has been a champion in advocating community issues, especially in Bunyoro, where oil and gas production is expected in a few years.
Their recent concerns rose after government’s plan to launch the second competitive licensing round for oil blocks, which would include Ngaji oil block, this week.

Cabinet this week approved the licensing of at least nine exploration areas, Ngaji block inclusive.
Ngaji oil block was one of the blocks that were not licensed due to community, CSO and international pressure.

Mr Nicholas Kagongo, one of the activists based in Katwe-Kabatoro Town Council, Kasese District and also a field officer for Kasese National Association of Professional Environmentalist, said:

“The Ministry of Energy should not license out the Ngaji oil block for oil exploration, because the block covers the Uganda side of Lake Edward and parts of Queen Elizabeth National Park that borders directly with the Virunga National Park in DR Congo, the world heritage site and forms part of the same continuous ecosystem.”
He said allowing oil exploration would put Lake Edward and Queen Elizabeth National Park at a risk because an estimated 200,000 fishermen and local communities such as Rwenshama, Katwe, Kisenyi, Kayanja on the Uganda side depend on the lake.

Mr Kagongo said the lake is also a home to several birds species, elephants, crocodiles, lions, buffaloes and hippocampus.
He said: “The oil activities in Queen Elizabeth could damage the ecosystem, the people and wildlife that depends on it, because this part of the park is where unique animals like Toppi and the climbing lions of Ishasha (in Rukungiri) and attract many tourists for game drive, so the oil drilling would directly impact on the fragile ecosystem”.

Mr Kagongo said the tourism potential of the area could harvest lots of money than the non-renewable oil resource.
Mr Joshua Rukundo from Kanungu Disrict, which will also be affected if Ngaji oil block is licensed out, said nearly an entire parish would be affected yet Kanungu has high population pressure.
“If Ngaji oil block is licensed, it will affect the ecosystem. I think the government should find an alternative venture.” Rukundo said.

Mr Edwin Mumbere, the co-ordinator of Coalition of Kasese Women and Youth clean energy clubs, said: “Ngaji oil block serves economic, social, cultural and aesthetic purposes that no amount of money from oil exploitation can replace that from tourism.”
Uganda is signatory to the Paris Climate Change Agreement which among others promotes environmental conservation and addressing climate change.

The Paris Agreement aims to keep global warming below a 2 degree Celsius by the end of the 21st Century and pursue efforts to limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degree Celsius, according to the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

As well the Paris Agreement text stipulates that developed countries must financially assist developing countries both in terms of adaptation to global warming and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, which requires the expansion of renewable energies.
According to the Wilderness Society, an online publication, there are several ways oil and gas drilling is bad for the environment.

They say oil and gas drilling is a dirty business and has consequences for wild lands and communities. That it disrupts wildlife migration routes and habitats from noise pollution, traffic and fences.

It is characterized by oil spills on land and offshore drilling sites, landscape changes from well pads and roads, oil and gas infrastructure and traffic spoil peaceful settings for visitors, haze, toxic chemicals and dust pollute the air and water.
That machinery, gas flares and light pollution disrupt scenic views and clear night skies and dangerous methane emissions contribute to climate change.

Effects of Oil & Gas 

According to the Wilderness Society, an online publication, there are several ways oil and gas drilling is bad for the environment.
They say oil and gas drilling is a dirty business and has consequences for wild lands and communities. That it disrupts wildlife migration routes and habitats from noise pollution, traffic and fences.

It is characterised by oil spills on land and offshore drilling sites, landscape changes from well pads and roads, oil and gas infrastructure and traffic spoil peaceful settings for visitors, haze, toxic chemicals and dust pollute the air and water.
That machinery, gas flares and light pollution disrupt scenic views and clear night skies and dangerous methane emissions contribute to climate change.

Oil development and production
Uganda’s oil and gas industry is transitioning from exploration and appraisal to development and production.
The components involved at the development and production stage include well pads, pipelines, Central Processing Facilities (CPF) and other infrastructures.

Well pads consist of production wells, injection wells and well fluid. Production wells are wells through which the oil flows to the surface; Injection wells are wells used to pump water into the oil fields to stimulate the oil flow, and; Well fluids are a mixture of oil, gas, water and impurities.

Production pipelines to transport produced oil and gas. Water abstraction and water injection pipelines to transport water. Polymer injection pipeline to transport polymer from the Central Processing Facilities to Oil Wells.

In the CPF, the oil, gas and water in the well fluids will be separated. This is safely done in many places in the world.
Other project infrastructures will include; new field roads, upgraded roads, workers’ camps and operational support bases and other facilities - borrow pits and waste disposal area.

The oil blocks in Uganda are in the Albertine rift basin, close to the border with DRC, where commercial oil deposits are estimated by government geologists to total 6 billion barrels. The six blocks are in Ngassa, Tai Tai & Karuka, Mvule, Turaco, Kanywantaba and Ngaji

Ebola vaccination kicks off in Rwenzori Sub-region

Equipped. Vaccination of all health workers against the deadly Ebola disease has kicked off in the Rwenzori Sub- region. FILE PHOTO 

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 13 2018

https://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Ebola-vaccination-kicks-off-Rwenzori-Sub-region/688334-4848496-8c5plv/index.html

In Summary

• Vaccination. Health ministry says 2,100 doses of the Ebola vaccine will be administered.
• The Ebola virus belongs to the Filoviridae family (filovirus) and is comprised of five distinct species: Zaïre, Sudan, Côte d’Ivoire, Bundibugyo and Reston.

By Monitor Team

KABAROLE/BUNDIBUGYO. Vaccination of all health workers against the deadly Ebola disease has kicked off in the Rwenzori Sub-region.

This comes as a preventive measure against the disease that has hit neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The exercise is targeting frontline health workers in the five risk districts of Kabarole, Bunyangabu, Kasese, Bundibugyo and Ntoroko.

According to health authorities, the vaccination exercise started last Wednesday in Ntoroko District, one of the high risk border districts in the region.

The Ntoroko District health officer (DHO), Dr Rogers Mugisha, told Daily Monitor yesterday that the vaccination exercise has been moving on smoothly.

“The vaccination is voluntary. Our health workers have responded positively and the exercise is still ongoing,” Dr Mugisha said.

According to the Bundibugyo Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Ms Grace Kakwenza, who is the head of the district Ebola task force, after Ntoroko the exercise will be rolled out to Bundibugyo and Kasese districts.

The Kasese District health officer, Dr Yusuf Baseke, said he expects the vaccination team in his area next week.
In Bunyangabu, the district health officer, Dr Richard Obeti, revealed that they have selected eight health facilities where health workers will be vaccinated.

These include Rwimi Health Centre III, Kibiito Health IV, Rwimi Health Centre III, Kabonero Health Centre III, Kateebwa Health Centre II, Rwagimba Health Centre III, Kibaate Health Centre III, Labya III and Mitandi Health Centre III.

Mr Obeti said they have also trained health workers in the district on how to manage Ebola cases.

A fortnight ago one person from Kasenda Sub-county in Kabarole District was confirmed to have Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic fever and has since been admitted to Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital in an isolation unit.
The Kabarole Ebola task force chairman, Mr Steven Asiimwe, on Monday called for the need to emphasise hand washing in all health facilities.

According to Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, the Health minister, a total of 2,100 doses of the rVSV-Ebola vaccine will be administered to the health workers in the sub-region.
Mr Martin Watsisi, the regional WASH adviser at IRC International water and sanitation centre Uganda, urged officials in-charge of various health centres in Kabarole District to ensure availability of hand washing facilities and soap at their units.

According to Mr Watsisi, there is continued spread of preventable diseases due to inadequate water, soap and hand washing facilities at health centres.

A recent research conducted by the centre in Kabarole District indicates that 89 per cent of the health care workers had knowledge about hand hygiene and infection prevention.
In July 2017, a research centre aimed at equipping medical staff with skills to handle filo virus outbreaks such as hemorrhagic fever, Cueva, Marburg and Ebola was established at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital.

The centre that is a pilot in the country among others finds treatment solutions on the outbreaks.
The centre was established by Makerere University Walter Reed Project in partnership with the Infectious Disease Institute for clinical research capabilities in Fort Portal.

About ebola
The Ebola virus belongs to the Filoviridae family (filovirus) and is comprised of five distinct species: Zaïre, Sudan, Côte d’Ivoire, Bundibugyo and Reston. According to the World Health Organisation the Ebola virus is transmitted by direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other body fluids of infected persons. The incubation period is two to 21 days. Ebola is characterised by the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat.

Reporting by Felix Basiime, Alex Ashaba, & Longino Muhindo

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com

Catholic, Anglican churches in joint sanitation campaign

A child washes hands with soap after visiting a pit-latrine in Katonzi Village, Kamwenge District, last week. PHOTO BY SCOVIA ATUHAIRE 

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Catholic-Anglican-churches-joint-sanitation-campaign/688334-4681322-5cvwd2z/index.html

THURSDAY JULY 26 2018

In Summary

·         According to the World Water Atlas, the district has 2,495 domestic water points, which serve a population of 373,888. According to the 2014 census, 47.3 per cent of households in the district collect drinking water from unsafe sources and 2.8 per cent households lack toilet facilities.

By MONITOR TEAM

Kamwenge. The Catholic and Anglican churches in Kamwenge District have teamed up to improve hygiene and sanitation in homes with a key message of washing hands with soap after using the toilet.

As its health tips, the Catholic Church uses the book of Deuteronomy 23:12-13; “Designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. As part of your equipment, have something to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your excrement”.
With this verse, Rev Fr Kayondo says: “The Bible is very clear; each family must have a latrine and if God visits your family and finds that you are unclean, he cannot help”.

Fr Kayondo says after undergoing training by district officials a year ago, he together with other church leaders in small Christian communities started moving house-to-house, educating people about hygiene.
“We divided the parishes into four zones and these parishes are in Buhanda and Kicheche sub-counties in Kitagwenda County. In every zone, we pick one village to work as a model and a small Christian community,” he says.

Fr Kayondo says each village has between 35 and 50 families, which are used to demonstrate and reach others.
“Most of the government programmes have been failing but when the church gets involved, they cannot fail because we have the biggest platform and people believe in us,” he says. Fr Kayondo says residents have been encouraged to embrace the project because it is spiritual and people were urged not to mix washed utensils with dirty ones.
“We make follow-ups to ensure that households are embracing the campaign. However, hand washing coverage is still low. We still need to change people’s mind set,” he says.

Religious leaders are implementing this project in five Catholic and five Anglican parishes in the district.
The Catholic parishes include Kitagwenda, Mahyoro, Kichwamba, Kicheche and Holy Trinity. The Anglican parishes include Ntuntu, Nyakasenyi, Kichwamba, Kibumbi and Nkoma.
Both Churches coordinate their activities to ensure they do not overlap.
Rev Canon Benon Rwabushari of Ntuntu Parish says the Anglican Church has mainly used the Mothers’ Union to promote the campaign.
“We have plans of going to our schools to educate pupils and teachers about hygiene both at school and in their homes,” he says, adding that the fathers’ union will also come on board.

“Our people fall sick because of ignorance. Diseases related to hygiene should not exist,” he observes.
Ms Ketty Bagarukayo, a resident of Katonzi Village, Kicheche Sub-county, says the campaign has already produced results.
“Our children used to suffer from diarrhoea and typhoid but we did not know it was due to poor hygiene. We also used to drink unboiled water,” Bagarukayo says, adding that after the sensitisation, their children no longer fall sick regularly.
Mr Federiko Tumusiime, a resident of Katonzi Village, says their children used to fall sick more often and they were made to believe they were being bewitched.

“Our children were passing out watery stool and we could not think about going to the hospital but would go to the witch doctors,” he says.
Ms Trina Kyomuhendo, a health worker at Kicheche Health Centre III, says the church intervention is paying off.
“Cases related to poor hygiene have reduced because we have taps where patients and health workers wash their hands and we have safe water for drinking,” she says.

Fact file

According to the World Water Atlas, the district has 2,495 domestic water points, which serve a population of 373,888. According to the 2014 census, 47.3 per cent of households in the district collect drinking water from unsafe sources and 2.8 per cent households lack toilet facilities.

Compiled by Scovia Atuhaire, Felix Basiime & Enid Ninsiima

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com

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.”