Chinese must appease the demons of Karuma or the dam won’t rise

 

By Joachim Buwembo
 

 

As we speak, everybody around is kicking off some huge project to generate thousands of Megawatts.

The Ethiopians are busy with their Renaissance Dam to produce 5,250MW. The Kenyans are planning to make thousands tapping geothermal energy in the Rift Valley. The Tanzanians have started on the natural gas in Mtwara to generate thousands of megawatts. Meanwhile Uganda has been fidgeting around with Karuma dam for 20 years and we can’t even decide who should build the little fellow.

Last year, Uganda danced with joy on completing Bujagali dam 80 kilometres east of the capital to generate 250MW. The search for an investor to build Bujagali had earlier been bedevilled by local devils in the early 1990s. So angry were the Bujagali demons that they claimed the jobs of high-profile personalities by implicating them in petty swindles.

Finally, the local leaders bowed to the spirits, performed the rituals and one Grandpa Bujagali, an old man with a long white beard who is custodian of the spirits, interceded with the spirits and blessed the search for a credible investor to take up project. And somehow, an impeccable investor materialised, and everything went smoothly thereafter.

It maybe China’s turn to do every other big project in Africa but if they do not offer some sacrifices and dance round a small fire in some Ugandan forest, they will not succeed with Karuma dam. For building power dams in Uganda is not a matter of engineering and finance alone.

The potential dam sites are strongly defended by powerful spirits of ancient gods that must first be appeased.

Indeed, it has been confusion at Karuma for the past two decades. Experts from all nationalities, starting with

Norwegians, came and fled. So powerful are the Karuma spirits that they have even led the government to consider building a  250MW dam instead of 750MW. Bid processes have started several times and ended in confusion.

Now some Chinese companies say they are going to build Karuma. But they are already bedevilled by confusion as one government agency attacks another over impropriety in the matter. They are all failing to recognise the power of the Karuma spirits.

First of all, Karuma is the dividing point between the political north and south. The bridge at Karuma is where the south stops and the north starts. Some influential northern politicians actually dream of Karuma becoming the international border point between the Republic of Uganda (the south) and the Nile Republic (the north) after they break away and join South Sudan.

To scuttle those plans will require intercession with the gods. The Chinese had better get ready to call on Grandpa Karuma now, burn some sweet and sour pork and kneel down for the devils of Karuma to go away.

Joachim Buwembo is a Knight International fellow for development journalism