Museveni ponders Mabira forest fate
Jan 20, 2007
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has not yet taken a decision on the proposed give-away of part of Mabira Forest Reserve in Mukono district.
By Gerald Tenywa
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has not yet taken a decision on the proposed give-away of part of Mabira Forest Reserve in Mukono district.
The Minister for Economic Monitoring, Kagimu Kiwanuka, on Thursday told the press that Museveni was consulting so that he could take an informed decision.
“I had to assess the situation on the ground and advise the President,†Kiwanuka commented.
“It is common for the President to consult and that is why I have come here,†he added.
He was speaking after a comprehensive tour of parts of Mabira, including an eco lodge where Alam Group of Companies and its Dutch partners have invested about $2m.
Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited (SCOUL) asked the Government about a year ago for 7,000 hectares of Mabira forest to cultivate sugarcane.
SCOUL is owned by Metha Group of Companies. The proposal prompted Museveni to order the environment ministry to undertake a study to find out the implications of changing the land use of the reserve.
Two months ago, an inter-ministerial committee recommended that the forest remain a nature reserve and that SCOUL should instead increase the productivity of its estate and strengthen the outgrowers scheme.
“We have got that report together with the one from SCOUL and this is going to help us to make an informed decision,’’ Kiwanuka announced.
Kiwanuka was accompanied by an inter-ministerial committee, which included Jessica Eriyo, the state minister for Environment, and former lands minister Baguma Isoke, who is currently the chairperson of the National Forestry Authority (NFA) board.
Others present were workers MP Joram Pajobo and Government officials, including NFA’s acting executive director Hope Rwaguma.
NFA officials took the group to the parts of the forest which Metha wants for growing sugarcane.
SCOUL’s report earlier said the areas that once suffered encroachment are still degraded, with inferior trees like paper mulberry, which do not produce valuable timber.
NFA’s Godfrey Acaye said the area is regenerating and that native species were growing below the mulberry trees.
“We should not look at timber as the only value of trees. The trees that are seen as inferior actually nurture wildlife species, which attract tourists.’’
Acaye said Mabira has three zones, including the strict nature reserve, that should not be touched.
He also cited the buffer zone, where communities extract medicinal plants, and the production zone that is set aside for sustainable timber harvesting.
“Degazetting any part of the forest will ultimately affect other parts,’’ Acaye stressed.
However, Pajobo complained that NFA was proving to be an obstacle to SCOUL’s land bid, saying: “When you say SCOUL wants this part of the forest they say don’t touch!’’
Prior to this, SCOUL’s Suresh put up a spirited campaign, saying the Government spends foreign exchange importing sugar, adding that with increasing population, the demand for sugar was likely to escalate.
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has not yet taken a decision on the proposed give-away of part of Mabira Forest Reserve in Mukono district.
The Minister for Economic Monitoring, Kagimu Kiwanuka, on Thursday told the press that Museveni was consulting so that he could take an informed decision.
“I had to assess the situation on the ground and advise the President,†Kiwanuka commented.
“It is common for the President to consult and that is why I have come here,†he added.
He was speaking after a comprehensive tour of parts of Mabira, including an eco lodge where Alam Group of Companies and its Dutch partners have invested about $2m.
Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited (SCOUL) asked the Government about a year ago for 7,000 hectares of Mabira forest to cultivate sugarcane.
SCOUL is owned by Metha Group of Companies. The proposal prompted Museveni to order the environment ministry to undertake a study to find out the implications of changing the land use of the reserve.
Two months ago, an inter-ministerial committee recommended that the forest remain a nature reserve and that SCOUL should instead increase the productivity of its estate and strengthen the outgrowers scheme.
“We have got that report together with the one from SCOUL and this is going to help us to make an informed decision,’’ Kiwanuka announced.
Kiwanuka was accompanied by an inter-ministerial committee, which included Jessica Eriyo, the state minister for Environment, and former lands minister Baguma Isoke, who is currently the chairperson of the National Forestry Authority (NFA) board.
Others present were workers MP Joram Pajobo and Government officials, including NFA’s acting executive director Hope Rwaguma.
NFA officials took the group to the parts of the forest which Metha wants for growing sugarcane.
SCOUL’s report earlier said the areas that once suffered encroachment are still degraded, with inferior trees like paper mulberry, which do not produce valuable timber.
NFA’s Godfrey Acaye said the area is regenerating and that native species were growing below the mulberry trees.
“We should not look at timber as the only value of trees. The trees that are seen as inferior actually nurture wildlife species, which attract tourists.’’
Acaye said Mabira has three zones, including the strict nature reserve, that should not be touched.
He also cited the buffer zone, where communities extract medicinal plants, and the production zone that is set aside for sustainable timber harvesting.
“Degazetting any part of the forest will ultimately affect other parts,’’ Acaye stressed.
However, Pajobo complained that NFA was proving to be an obstacle to SCOUL’s land bid, saying: “When you say SCOUL wants this part of the forest they say don’t touch!’’
Prior to this, SCOUL’s Suresh put up a spirited campaign, saying the Government spends foreign exchange importing sugar, adding that with increasing population, the demand for sugar was likely to escalate.