Civil society demands referendum on Mabira giveaway
Sep 07, 2011
CIVIL Society organisations are proposing a referendum over the proposed Mabira Forest giveaway.
By Gerald Tenywa
CIVIL Society organisations are proposing a referendum over the proposed Mabira Forest giveaway.
Onesmus Mugyenyi of the Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment said the Mabira issue should be decided by the public.
“We know that previous Parliaments have been compromised. In our view, their decision should not be the final decision over the Mabira giveaway,†he said.
Mugyenyi made the remarks yesterday during a press conference at Speke Hotel in Kampala.
The function was organised by the Save Mabira Crusade, a network of environmental activists and concerned citizens.
The activists also made a statement in which they disclosed what they discussed with President Yoweri Museveni in a meeting that took place in Ntungamo over the weekend.
Officials from Mehta Group of companies and the Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited in whose favour Museveni wants 7,100 hectares to be degazetted also attended the meeting.
“The battle for Mabira is going to be won or lost in Parliament,†said Frank Muramuzi, the executive director of the National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE).
He called on the public to put pressure on their MPs, the ministers and Mehta to stop the Mabira giveaway.
The activists, led by Ken Lukyamuzi, the Lubaga South MP also included Achilles Byaruhanga, who heads Nature Uganda, a partner of Bird Life International.
The group said they were going to engage in advocacy to ensure that the forest is maintained for conservation and not given away for cultivation of sugarcane.
Mugyenyi said they would organise protests at local and international level.
He said they would also boycott products made by Mehta.
The group also plans to file a case with the East African Court to block the proposed giveaway of Mabira since the forest is part of the catchment of Lake Victoria.
Mugyenyi said Museveni wants a comprehensive study done before the matter is debated by the Parliament.
East African states signed a protocol to conserve Lake Victoria and its resources.
Citing previous change of land use in Namanve Forest Reserve and Butamira Forest in Jinja, Lukyamuzi said there was growing impunity within the Government.
“The Government is aware of the international commitments and national obligations, but has ignored all of them,†he said.
Asked to comment on the agreement between the Government and World Bank that ties Mabira to conservation, Byaruhanga said the issue was raised and that the President said the solicitor general would advise over the matter.
Muramuzi said NAPE wrote to the World Bank, demanding that the bank intervenes in order to protect the commitment in which both parties agreed to conserve Mabira and expand it.
CIVIL Society organisations are proposing a referendum over the proposed Mabira Forest giveaway.
Onesmus Mugyenyi of the Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment said the Mabira issue should be decided by the public.
“We know that previous Parliaments have been compromised. In our view, their decision should not be the final decision over the Mabira giveaway,†he said.
Mugyenyi made the remarks yesterday during a press conference at Speke Hotel in Kampala.
The function was organised by the Save Mabira Crusade, a network of environmental activists and concerned citizens.
The activists also made a statement in which they disclosed what they discussed with President Yoweri Museveni in a meeting that took place in Ntungamo over the weekend.
Officials from Mehta Group of companies and the Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited in whose favour Museveni wants 7,100 hectares to be degazetted also attended the meeting.
“The battle for Mabira is going to be won or lost in Parliament,†said Frank Muramuzi, the executive director of the National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE).
He called on the public to put pressure on their MPs, the ministers and Mehta to stop the Mabira giveaway.
The activists, led by Ken Lukyamuzi, the Lubaga South MP also included Achilles Byaruhanga, who heads Nature Uganda, a partner of Bird Life International.
The group said they were going to engage in advocacy to ensure that the forest is maintained for conservation and not given away for cultivation of sugarcane.
Mugyenyi said they would organise protests at local and international level.
He said they would also boycott products made by Mehta.
The group also plans to file a case with the East African Court to block the proposed giveaway of Mabira since the forest is part of the catchment of Lake Victoria.
Mugyenyi said Museveni wants a comprehensive study done before the matter is debated by the Parliament.
East African states signed a protocol to conserve Lake Victoria and its resources.
Citing previous change of land use in Namanve Forest Reserve and Butamira Forest in Jinja, Lukyamuzi said there was growing impunity within the Government.
“The Government is aware of the international commitments and national obligations, but has ignored all of them,†he said.
Asked to comment on the agreement between the Government and World Bank that ties Mabira to conservation, Byaruhanga said the issue was raised and that the President said the solicitor general would advise over the matter.
Muramuzi said NAPE wrote to the World Bank, demanding that the bank intervenes in order to protect the commitment in which both parties agreed to conserve Mabira and expand it.