Ayeni walks 330km to save River Rwizi

ENVIRONMENT  WALK  

Geoffrey Walker Ayeni is set to lead a team of 14 walkers on expedition covering 330 km to create awareness about water and impacts of climate change. 

The newly enthroned Archbishop, Kazimba Mugalu is expected to flag off Ayeni and his team today in Mabira which is partly sitting in Buikwe. The team is expected to conclude the expedition in Mbarara in western Uganda.  

According to Ayeni, the expedition under the theme, "walk for water and climate change is expected to cover 10 days. The walkers will make stopovers in seven districts between Buikwe and Mbarara. The team will be supported by an advance team which includes medical team and also a social media team. 

"We are going to engage people about water because impacts of climate change are expressed through water," Ayeni told New Vision in an interview yesterday (Monday). 

Ayeni also said River Rwizi, which traverses 10 districts in western Uganda keeps on drying up particularly in the dry season. 

                                                                           Geoffrey Walker Ayeni

 
"People need to know that western Uganda is the food basket of Uganda because it is a source of banana, beef and milk," said Ayeni, adding that the productivity of western Uganda depends on the availability of water. 

He said that without water, the industries will produce below capacity meaning that they will employ fewer people or shut down altogether in case they do not access water. 

"We have a committee in every district where we will make stopovers and then have an activity such as tree planting," he said.

He added, "in Kampala, we have an activity at Lugogo and then move with a message from the Uganda Manufacturers Association to the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga. We will not only plant trees but also carry out different activities." 

At the conclusion of the exhibition, a symposium organised by Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE) will be held at Mbarara. 

The expedition is part of the Uganda Water and Environment Week (UWEWK). This year the focus of UWEWK 2020 is on the centrality of water and environment resources in Sustainable Industrialization for Inclusive-growth, Environment and Wealth Creation. 

The Minister of Water and Environment, Sam Cheptoris and the Permanent Secretary Okot Okidi last week called a press conference at the Ministry Headquarters at Luzira last Friday. They highlighted the importance of the walk and the water week. 

UWEWK is a weeklong event that is organized annually by the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) through the Water Resources Institute (WRI) in Entebbe. 

Since its inception in 2018, the event seeks to contribute towards the attainment of Sustainable Socio-economic Transformation in achieving the Ugandan National Development Plan and vision.  It provides an interface between sector actors and other stakeholders for knowledge exchange, dialoguing, learning for improvement of Uganda's water and environment resources.

UWEWK2020 will explore the role water and environment resources will play in the achievement of the National Development Plan (NDP) III goal and targets. It will assess the centrality of water and environment resources in increasing household incomes, improved quality of life of the population.