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JINJA - The Busoga parliamentary caucus and ministers from the region have asked the Government to institute a special and alternative programme to address issues of poverty eradication and wetland degradation rather than chasing people out of them.

The committee led by their chairperson Idi Isabirye (MP Bunya County South) says the special programme should also move hand in hand with the provision of permits and guidelines on how people should use the wetlands.

General duties minister (Office of the Prime Minister) Justine Kasule Lumubwa says the 11 districts, which make up Busoga, are being neighboured by water bodies and people are forced to go to wetlands for livelihoods including food production mainly rice and fishing.

“Chasing people out of the wetlands is not a solution to preserve wetlands, otherwise our prayer is for the Government to find an alternative of introducing a special programme and also provide permits with strict guidelines to be followed by farmers in wetlands,” she says.

Introduce support systems

She has also outlined that the Government, through the agriculture ministry, should also introduce the support of farmers with fish farming cages and the recommended fishing gear so that they don’t deplete the surrounding water bodies.

She said during a stakeholders meeting on Friday which was called for by the Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) in partnership with the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and the agriculture ministry (MAAIF). 

The meeting was attended by LC leaders and Resident District and City Commissioners from Busoga with technical officers.

The meeting was held at the Source of Nile Hotel in Jinja city officiated by the First Deputy Prime Minster and Minister of East Africa Affairs Rebbeca Kadaga, and was chaired by National Planning Authority executive officer Dr Joseph Muvawala. Muvawala is also the prime minister of Busoga Kingdom.

Third Deputy Prime Minister Rukia Isanga Nakadama, who is also Mayuge District Woman Member of Parliament, said Busoga needs a special programme to streamline the problems the region is facing mainly in the fishing communities, sugarcane plantation and environmental challenges.

“If we get the special programme like other regions, we should categorise it to include fishing communities and rice farmers,” Nakadama said.

 Finding a lasting solution to wetland encroachment

Maj. Gen. Samuel Kavuma, the deputy chief co-ordinator of OWC, said their aim was to co-ordinate Cabinet ministers, MPs, LCs, RDC/CCs with technical works, find an existing solution over a presidential directive on wetland evictions of July 31, 2022.

“No one shall be evicted from the wetlands but we have come to sound our problem to leaders so that we get to understand and get to plan for a lasting solution for the future of wetlands,” Gen Kavuma said.

Kavuma explained that people using the wetlands cannot move out until they get an alternative solution as suggested in the President's letter.

This was supported by a reading of the letter to the meeting by Minister for the Presidency Milly Babalanda which highlighted that Busoga, Bukedi and Kigezi regions were misled by the Government to use wetlands like the establishment of Kibimba (Tilida) rice scheme which uses wetlands in Busoga region.

“I'm extremely happy we have achieved our goal of co-ordination and got your views on challenges in Busoga because no one is going to be evicted until we get a lasting solution like President Museveni said,” he said.

Fear about ideas never put into practice

Kadaga said it was important to engage on pertinent issues affecting Busoga warning that she hoped that it was not a waste of time sitting to make resolutions and they end up dead.

She highlighted incidents which have ended up unfruitful starting with 2002 when Busoga leaders organised meetings on how best to improve the welfare incomes of Busoga but all went to waste.

Kadaga also highlighted that during the 9th Parliament, then Kaliro MP Kenneth Lubogo raised a motion to have a special programme for the region. According to her, the proposal was taken to the Office of the Prime Minister debated and justified with a budget allocated but it never saw the light of day.

The third after the failure of the first two was to opt for the ministry of Luwero Triangle for a few things like the Parish Community Association Programme where they had earmarked shillings 30 million for every parish in Busoga but also went to waste.

Lastly was a failure to implement presidential directives sighting an example when President Museveni was in Buwondha, Mayuge district 10 years ago where the fishing community expressed its concerns over special consideration but is still struggling.

“Hope this is not a waste of time and resources, let these resolutions be seriously followed up so as to improve the welfare of Busoga,” she said.

Concerns about chemical use in wetlands

NEMA executive director Dr Akankwasa Barirega said the use of harmful chemicals in wetlands destroys the water ecosystem and is deadly to human health.

Akankwasa noted that currently, they are following a presidential directive not to license investors in wetlands and that all those who have not yet developed should be allocated land elsewhere.

“We are now working under a standing order from the President not to issue licences and certificates of operations in wetlands. We have learnt from our problems of allocating wetlands like in Namanve and all those developers in wetlands are to be relocated,” he said.

Idi Isabirye, the chairperson of the committee, said all resolutions captured will be compiled into a working document and presented before Parliament and Cabinet.