Nakawa developer defies NEMA
Jun 15, 2010
THE reclamation of the Nakawa swamp opposite spear Motors has continued despite a court order asking the developer to halt his activities, Dr. Gerald Sawula Musoke, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) deputy director, has said.
By Gerald Tenywa
THE reclamation of the Nakawa swamp opposite spear Motors has continued despite a court order asking the developer to halt his activities, Dr. Gerald Sawula Musoke, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) deputy director, has said.
“We have arrested many of the workers hoping to deter the encroachment on the swamp but the developer has remained adamant,†he said.
In a letter of April 23, Musoke asked the developer, John Imaniraguha, to stop the development. He had created drainage channels in the swamp, erected an enclosure around it and was filling it with lorry-loads of marram.
The environment watchdog ordered Imaniraguha to vacate the swamp within 21 days and restore it to its original state.
However, he secured a court injunction blocking the order, Musoke explained.
Christine Akello, NEMA’s senior lawyer, said they applied for a court order to enforce the restoration and it was granted, but enforcing the order remained a challenge.
“I have been on leave, but NEMA was supposed to ask the Inspector General of Police to intervene and enforce the restoration order,†Akello said.
The authority argues that the swamp is a water way, described by environmentalists as fragile because it is a critical drainage line for Nakawa hill and the Kinawataka wetland system.
They also say the encroachment is likely to increase flooding around Nakawa and Kyambogo and damage the Jinja road highway.
In a letter to NEMA’s director, Dr. Aryamanya Mugisha, Imaniraguha said he complied with the terms given to him by the authority.
It was agreed that he could proceed with the project after scaling it to fit outside the wetland and constructing a retention wall to prevent marram and stones from spilling into the drainage channel.
NEMA, however, maintains that the current development is contrary to the guidelines agreed upon.
THE reclamation of the Nakawa swamp opposite spear Motors has continued despite a court order asking the developer to halt his activities, Dr. Gerald Sawula Musoke, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) deputy director, has said.
“We have arrested many of the workers hoping to deter the encroachment on the swamp but the developer has remained adamant,†he said.
In a letter of April 23, Musoke asked the developer, John Imaniraguha, to stop the development. He had created drainage channels in the swamp, erected an enclosure around it and was filling it with lorry-loads of marram.
The environment watchdog ordered Imaniraguha to vacate the swamp within 21 days and restore it to its original state.
However, he secured a court injunction blocking the order, Musoke explained.
Christine Akello, NEMA’s senior lawyer, said they applied for a court order to enforce the restoration and it was granted, but enforcing the order remained a challenge.
“I have been on leave, but NEMA was supposed to ask the Inspector General of Police to intervene and enforce the restoration order,†Akello said.
The authority argues that the swamp is a water way, described by environmentalists as fragile because it is a critical drainage line for Nakawa hill and the Kinawataka wetland system.
They also say the encroachment is likely to increase flooding around Nakawa and Kyambogo and damage the Jinja road highway.
In a letter to NEMA’s director, Dr. Aryamanya Mugisha, Imaniraguha said he complied with the terms given to him by the authority.
It was agreed that he could proceed with the project after scaling it to fit outside the wetland and constructing a retention wall to prevent marram and stones from spilling into the drainage channel.
NEMA, however, maintains that the current development is contrary to the guidelines agreed upon.