Tour operators petition Parliament over Isimba Dam

By Henry Sekanjako and Moses Walubiri

TOUR Operators under the umbrella body Save Adventure Tourism in Uganda (SATU) have petitioned Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga over the construction of Isimba Dam between Kayunga and Jinja districts saying it would impact on adventure tourism in Uganda.

The petitioners want government to downsize the level of the dam from the proposed alternative 1:1055 masl, to alternative 3:1043 masl.

According to the petitioners the proposed alternative 1:1055 masl, would impact on tourism activities such as water rafting in Jinja.

“We are not opposed to the construction of Isimba dam per se and recognize the importance of sufficient power supply in Uganda, but that the smaller option of alternative 3, would still generate significant electricity without necessarily affecting adventure tourism,” said Jeff Bidandi, the coordinator SATU.

The tourism operators further noted that building the dam at alternative 3; 1043 would have a negligible impact on tourism and livelihoods of the people who depend on it.

They also appealed to government to consider assessing all environmental, social and economic impacts of Isimba Dam to avoid environmental degradation.

“We are going to lose out on tourism activities like water rafting, and tourists will now be going to Rwanda. Tourists don’t come here to tour forests and hotels, they come because of tourism activities like water rafting,” said Bidandi the lead petitioner.

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Speaking after receiving the 26 page petition signed by 15000 stakeholders, Kadaga pledged to pursue the matter saying it would lead to the destruction of important tourism sites in Jinja.

“When I was growing up, the only thing that we used to identify Jinja was seeing water falls, that is what Jinja meant to me, so we should work hard to ensure that tourism is not destroyed,” said Kadaga.

Michael Werikhe, the chairperson natural resources committee of parliament said the construction of the dam should consider the interests of tourism to avoid destruction of crucial tourism activities.

Preliminary works on Isimba Hydropower Dam project in Kayunga district have since started to help boost the country’s electricity power capacity. 

The power station expected to be completed in about three years, will produce 183 megawatts and will cost about 57 million dollars.