Tourists at Murchison Falls National Park . FILE PHOTO
The planned
giveaway of Murchison falls for a hydropower dam has sparked online
outrage with
several Ugandans signing an online petition to block the move which could see the disappearance of a key tourist attraction in the East African nation.
By the time of filing this story, over 4,900 people had signed the online petition and initiated a hashtag #SaveMurchisonFalls to block the plan.
several Ugandans signing an online petition to block the move which could see the disappearance of a key tourist attraction in the East African nation.
By the time of filing this story, over 4,900 people had signed the online petition and initiated a hashtag #SaveMurchisonFalls to block the plan.
This comes a few
months after environmentalists blocked attempts by a private investor
to clear part of Bugoma forest in Hoima District to set up a sugar
plantation.
In a June 7, 2019 notice, the power regulator, Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) acknowledges receipt of an application from Bonang Power Energy Limited, a South African energy firm for the generation and sale of power from a plant to be set up near Murchison Falls in Kiryandongo and Nwoya districts.
In a June 7, 2019 notice, the power regulator, Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) acknowledges receipt of an application from Bonang Power Energy Limited, a South African energy firm for the generation and sale of power from a plant to be set up near Murchison Falls in Kiryandongo and Nwoya districts.
“The
Electricity Regulatory Authority has under section 29 of the
Electricity Act 1999, received a notice of intended application for a
license from Bonang Power Energy (Pty) Limited for the generation and
sale of electricity from a hydro power plant proposed to be established
near Murchison Falls, in Kiryandongo and Nwoya Districts. Bonang Power
Energy (Pty) Limited intends to undertake detailed feasibility studies
and other activities leading to the development of the above mentioned
Power project whose proposed installed capacity is 360 MW,” reads part
of the notice.
The generation power will be sold to the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company (UETCL) and fed into the national grid, according to ERA.
The generation power will be sold to the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company (UETCL) and fed into the national grid, according to ERA.
The tourist treasure in the middle
of the controversy is among the areas American rapper Kanye West and his
wife Kim Kardashian visited when they came to Uganda late last year.
On social media, many have come out to call for united voice against the plan with many posting heartfelt messages with beautiful pictures of the falls attached to their posts.
Government is yet to give a response to the above effect. However, ERA on Sunday insisted that it had not issued a license for the establishment of the power plant but instead received an application for a permit to conduct feasibility studies for a proposed plant near the falls.
"The application by the developer is available for viewing. Do not hesitate to contact us for more information or clarity," ERA said in a statement issued on June 9, 2019.
On social media, many have come out to call for united voice against the plan with many posting heartfelt messages with beautiful pictures of the falls attached to their posts.
Government is yet to give a response to the above effect. However, ERA on Sunday insisted that it had not issued a license for the establishment of the power plant but instead received an application for a permit to conduct feasibility studies for a proposed plant near the falls.
"The application by the developer is available for viewing. Do not hesitate to contact us for more information or clarity," ERA said in a statement issued on June 9, 2019.
On
its website, Bonang says Uganda “seeks to build new hydropower projects
at Ayago, Uhuru, Kiba and Murchison Falls and will generate 2,550 MW of
electricity…. leading to a more reliable power supply and a key factor
of economic development.” Murchison Falls is situated in the Murchison
Falls national park in the northern part of the Albertine Rift Valley.
It is well known to be one of Uganda’s ancient conservation areas. The
park covers an area of about 3,893km2 and it is known to be one of
Uganda’s well-protected area. Mr Amos Wekesa, the executive director of
Great Lakes Safaris, took to social media to encourage Ugandans to sign
the petition, which they said would be delivered to President Museveni.
Under the hashtag #SaveMurchisonfFlls, Mr Wekesa implored Ugandans to
share their pictures online while at Murchison Falls.
“Those
of you, who have been there, know they [Murchison Falls] are a national
asset not Wekesa’s or any other tour operators. The government collects
all the revenue and if you haven’t been [there], please go and you
don’t have to use my company,” Mr Wekesa said.Meanwhile, the petitioner,
Mr Amos Murungi, who describes himself as an environmentalist wrote:
“The Delta area which forms part of Murchison Falls national park is the
best the place to see the rare shoebill stork. A boat cruise to the
Delta area where the shoebill is sighted offers great opportunity to see
the game as hippos, crocodiles, lots of bird species among others.”
Tourism is the highest foreign exchange earner, having raked in $1.37bn
last year. The only sector that comes close is diaspora remittances when
Ugandans abroad sent in $1.2bn last year. Up to 1.4 million people
entered Uganda in 2018. Losing falls is familiar to Ugandans after the
construction of Bujagali hydro-power in Jinja saw the disappearance of
the Nile Falls in Jinja.
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