Nile body gets sh9b

Aug 15, 2006

COUNTRIES sharing the River Nile are to invest over $15m (sh27b) in activities that will contribute to better livelihoods of local people living around cross-border water bodies of Uganda and her neighbours

By Gerald Tenywa

COUNTRIES sharing the River Nile are to invest over $15m (sh27b) in activities that will contribute to better livelihoods of local people living around cross-border water bodies of Uganda and her neighbours.

The countries working under the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) came together about a decade ago to promote socio-economic development and resolve conflicts where River Nile and its tributaries run.

Donors including the EU, NORAD and SIDA provided funding of about $5m for River Malaba, Sio and Malakisi shared by Uganda and Kenya.

Another $8m is for the Kagera River, shared by Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda and $2.5m for the Lake Edward and Albert Fisheries Project, shared by Uganda and the DR Congo.

“The fund will also be used for better management of the environment as a way of fighting poverty and creating sustainability,’’ said Jane Nabunya, the national project coordinator of the confidence building and stakeholder involvement under NBI.

However, some of the activities are still on hold as the funds to implement them have not been released. At a workshop organised at Tororo Rock Classic, beneficiaries and district officials complained about the delay.

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