President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has directed people who stay and operate in wetlands to vacate them peacefully.
“I have been seeing some scuffle between the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and some people who are in the wetland. My advice to the people in the wetland is that they should all leave peacefully,” he said.
Adding “I have been seeing people commenting that where was NEMA when these people were putting up these buildings? Why didn’t they stop them? But why should it be NEMA stopping these people? Don’t you have eyes to see a swamp? You don’t need NEMA, who doesn’t know what a swamp is, why do you need NEMA to stop you as if you are an idiot? But even NEMA should not take on that responsibility, because they don’t have enough manpower.”
The President made the remarks while officiating at the 3rd Annual Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Conference and Dissemination of the Local Government Management of Service Delivery Report and Parish Development Model (PDM) Implementation held at Speke Resort, Munyonyo.
The two-day conference was attended by Resident District/City Commissioners (RDCs/RCCs), District Chairpersons, City and Municipal Mayors, Government Officials, Development Partners, Private Sector, among others.
According to President Museveni, the only few people in the wetlands whom he offered to help are those in Busoga, Bukedi and Kigezi who were misled by the colonial and some independence governments to go into the swamps.
“They misled our people to go into the Kibimba swamp to grow swamp rice. If you claim that these ones have been there for a long time, how? I fought in the Luwero Triangle, I know every swamp there and when I was capturing Kampala, nobody was in the swamp. All these people have gone in the swamps knowingly and because of the collusion of the local leaders,” he said.
He asked NEMA to explain to him why they have never held the Parish Chiefs, the Gombolola Chiefs and the GISOs accountable.
President Museveni further explained that encroaching on wetlands has adverse effects such as desertification.
“Uganda will become a desert, can we afford that? It affects the rain; 40 percent of the rain we get is from wetlands. It also affects our ability for irrigation. Our plan is to stabilise agriculture through irrigation but where shall we get water for irrigation if the people have dried the wetlands? You who are in the swamps, you are threatening us, you want Uganda to become a desert and don’t want us to have water for irrigation. Those wetlands are a source of wealth because they have resources like grass for mulching, papyrus, mudfish, among others. It also filters water,” he said.