By Charles Kakamwa

ARMY MP Gen. Elly Tumwine has urged Ugandans to stop destroying the environment. Tumwine also noted that many people lacked knowledge about environmental conservation, which, he said, had led to indiscriminate cutting of trees.

“Uganda is one of the countries with the cleanest water in Africa. We are second to DR Congo and this is because of the forests that we have. But if the high rate at which trees are being cut is not stopped, this will be no more,” he said.

Tumwine was recently addressing students of the Jinja School of Nursing and Midwifery during a patriotism and nationalism mobilisation campaign.

“If each of us plants at least 12 trees a year, we would save our environment from degradation,” he said.

Tumwine said ignorance was the worst threat to mankind, saying it led to disease, poverty and environmental degradation.

He also advised communities to revive regular meetings where residents can share information and knowledge.

“The most mismanaged resource is knowledge. We have a lot of knowledge around us but we don’t share it with others,” he observed.

The resident district commissioner of Jinja, Christopher Bagonza, cautioned the students against sectarian beliefs, saying such thinking undermined development.

In a memorandum handed to Tumwine, the students thanked the Government for constructing more buildings at the institute.

However, they said accommodation at the school was still inadequate.