Take stern action to redeem Uganda’s forests
Jun 15, 2010
SOMETIMES the names given to people or places follow them. Take for instance the acronym NFA (National Forestry Authority), which means, “I am dying†in most Bantu languages.
SOMETIMES the names given to people or places follow them. Take for instance the acronym NFA (National Forestry Authority), which means, “I am dying†in most Bantu languages.
The IGG’s report says NFA is in a bad shape. The report recommended that Damian Akankwasa, the former executive director, be terminated and he was sacked. The IGG discovered that NFA was choking with irregularities.
Ironically, it was Akankwasa who opened a can of worms claiming that sh900m had been stolen from him by his wife. He said the money belonged to his brothers.
However, the IGG doubts his brother’s abilities to amass such monies. Many people agree that the image of the NFA has suffered. Media reports recently indicated that foresters are not only good at planting trees, but also planting fetishes (witchcraft) that was discovered in heaps at the NFA headquarters in Bugolobi. Such behaviour is terrible.
It is now time to rebuild NFA. But it is important to ask some critical questions. What was the NFA board doing when NFA was being messed up? How about the political supervisors: the three ministers of environment, where were they when the forestry body was being pushed to its knees? How about civil society?
First it was Maria Mutagamba, the water and environment minister and Baguma Isoke, the chairperson of the board of trustees who rushed to the Media Centre to defend Akankwasa. They said he was clean and no money was missing at NFA.
What was even amazing is that they did not give room for investigations to be done. However, President Yoweri Museveni put his foot down and ordered the Inspector General of Government (IGG) and the Auditor General (AG) to investigate the matter.
The watchdog organisations have all concluded their reports forcing Mutagamba and Isoke to swallow their words. Strangely, they have not called another press conference to correct the wrong impression they created.
The AG’s report implicates some board members, saying they were using banned chain power saws to mow down trees in forests they are supposed to protect. This implies that the board is an interested party and that is why it could not see the rot and discipline errant officers. It was a case of scratch my back and I scratch yours.
The writing was always on the wall that things were falling apart at NFA. Even when highly competent staff were leaving enmass, the politicians were saying: “They can be replaced.†But what has been the cost?
It is often said leaders should be keen listeners and decisive actors. But looking at the way whistle-blowers like Samwiri Rwabwogo, the former coordinator of law enforcement at NFA, were ignored, shows that NFA is short of leaders.
Rwabwogo was demonised as an opponent to Akankwasa and eliminated in a restructuring process that affected only his position. How much would NFA have saved in terms of money and image if the politicians had listened to Rwabwogo?
Such manoeuvers that obstructed Rwabwogo’s truth were short-term gains to the beneficiaries. The IGG report has proved that Rwabwogo’s termination is a case of oil and water never mix.
Whoever is going to slay the dragon of impunity coiled around the NFA needs to take a step back and keenly look at the two images of NFA. This will help to redeem the forestry body and make it work for conservation.
Prior to Akankwasa’s term there was the pioneer executive director Olav Bjella, a Norwegian expatriate.
Bjella’s team together with John Kaboggoza, a Makerere University professor who was the chairperson of the board, could not even surrender an inch of Mabira Forest Reserve and Bugala Forest when the sugar and palm oil barons came knocking with orders from ‘above.’
For this they will be remembered as true stewards of Uganda’s forests. They had two choices; to accept the forest give-away or resign. They chose to resign. Their sacrifice was not in vain because Mabira and Bugala forests are still standing in their honour. But their departure weakened the forestry body, giving room for replacements at management level, one of them Isoke, a former state minister for lands.
Another issue is the fact that NFA manages only 30% of the forests in the protected areas. The rest is under the revenue-hungry districts. The Government has failed to create strong district forestry services to take charge of forests on private land, which constitute 70% of forest cover.
Currently forests on private land are like orphans since revenue-thirsty districts are more interested in their exploitation for charcoal and firewood. So, the relevance of district forest officers is seen from the perspective of money, which is a short-term gain.
A strong NFA and district forestry service would help conserve forests. The two forest conservation bodies would become pillars of partnership and work together with districts, key ministries like agriculture, energy and sister institutions like the Uganda Wildlife Authority, the World Conservation Union and civil society.
Short of this, NFA will become irrelevant and disappear. Who is ready to face poverty without basic necessities like firewood and water? Politicians should support strong policy and institutional frameworks to secure nature for today and the future.
The IGG sees getting Akankwasa out of the way as a solution. This is one small step in the right direction. The person replacing Akankwasa will have bigger problems if politicians continue standing in the way of good governance and tough but needed decisions.
The writer is an environment journalist
The IGG’s report says NFA is in a bad shape. The report recommended that Damian Akankwasa, the former executive director, be terminated and he was sacked. The IGG discovered that NFA was choking with irregularities.
Ironically, it was Akankwasa who opened a can of worms claiming that sh900m had been stolen from him by his wife. He said the money belonged to his brothers.
However, the IGG doubts his brother’s abilities to amass such monies. Many people agree that the image of the NFA has suffered. Media reports recently indicated that foresters are not only good at planting trees, but also planting fetishes (witchcraft) that was discovered in heaps at the NFA headquarters in Bugolobi. Such behaviour is terrible.
It is now time to rebuild NFA. But it is important to ask some critical questions. What was the NFA board doing when NFA was being messed up? How about the political supervisors: the three ministers of environment, where were they when the forestry body was being pushed to its knees? How about civil society?
First it was Maria Mutagamba, the water and environment minister and Baguma Isoke, the chairperson of the board of trustees who rushed to the Media Centre to defend Akankwasa. They said he was clean and no money was missing at NFA.
What was even amazing is that they did not give room for investigations to be done. However, President Yoweri Museveni put his foot down and ordered the Inspector General of Government (IGG) and the Auditor General (AG) to investigate the matter.
The watchdog organisations have all concluded their reports forcing Mutagamba and Isoke to swallow their words. Strangely, they have not called another press conference to correct the wrong impression they created.
The AG’s report implicates some board members, saying they were using banned chain power saws to mow down trees in forests they are supposed to protect. This implies that the board is an interested party and that is why it could not see the rot and discipline errant officers. It was a case of scratch my back and I scratch yours.
The writing was always on the wall that things were falling apart at NFA. Even when highly competent staff were leaving enmass, the politicians were saying: “They can be replaced.†But what has been the cost?
It is often said leaders should be keen listeners and decisive actors. But looking at the way whistle-blowers like Samwiri Rwabwogo, the former coordinator of law enforcement at NFA, were ignored, shows that NFA is short of leaders.
Rwabwogo was demonised as an opponent to Akankwasa and eliminated in a restructuring process that affected only his position. How much would NFA have saved in terms of money and image if the politicians had listened to Rwabwogo?
Such manoeuvers that obstructed Rwabwogo’s truth were short-term gains to the beneficiaries. The IGG report has proved that Rwabwogo’s termination is a case of oil and water never mix.
Whoever is going to slay the dragon of impunity coiled around the NFA needs to take a step back and keenly look at the two images of NFA. This will help to redeem the forestry body and make it work for conservation.
Prior to Akankwasa’s term there was the pioneer executive director Olav Bjella, a Norwegian expatriate.
Bjella’s team together with John Kaboggoza, a Makerere University professor who was the chairperson of the board, could not even surrender an inch of Mabira Forest Reserve and Bugala Forest when the sugar and palm oil barons came knocking with orders from ‘above.’
For this they will be remembered as true stewards of Uganda’s forests. They had two choices; to accept the forest give-away or resign. They chose to resign. Their sacrifice was not in vain because Mabira and Bugala forests are still standing in their honour. But their departure weakened the forestry body, giving room for replacements at management level, one of them Isoke, a former state minister for lands.
Another issue is the fact that NFA manages only 30% of the forests in the protected areas. The rest is under the revenue-hungry districts. The Government has failed to create strong district forestry services to take charge of forests on private land, which constitute 70% of forest cover.
Currently forests on private land are like orphans since revenue-thirsty districts are more interested in their exploitation for charcoal and firewood. So, the relevance of district forest officers is seen from the perspective of money, which is a short-term gain.
A strong NFA and district forestry service would help conserve forests. The two forest conservation bodies would become pillars of partnership and work together with districts, key ministries like agriculture, energy and sister institutions like the Uganda Wildlife Authority, the World Conservation Union and civil society.
Short of this, NFA will become irrelevant and disappear. Who is ready to face poverty without basic necessities like firewood and water? Politicians should support strong policy and institutional frameworks to secure nature for today and the future.
The IGG sees getting Akankwasa out of the way as a solution. This is one small step in the right direction. The person replacing Akankwasa will have bigger problems if politicians continue standing in the way of good governance and tough but needed decisions.
The writer is an environment journalist