Museveni breaks silence on sand mining in Lake Victoria
President Museveni has for the first time expressed his views about excavation of sand from lakes in Uganda, especially Victoria.
Sand mining has of recent become not only a lucrative but also contentious issue with various leaders led by Wakiso district chairman Matia Lwanga Bwanika saying no to the activity they say will degrade Uganda and Africa’s largest fresh water lake.
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On Wednesday, Museveni said he would discuss the matter with cabinet and other stakeholders to see its viability.
“Yesterday (Tuesday) we were discussing it and we shall discuss it more. I am told there is very good sand in Uganda but I don’t know exactly where it is,”Museveni responded to a question from journalists in regards to mining sand in Lake Victoria on Wednesday at the Kawumu presidential demonstration farm in Luweero district.
According to Museveni, sand in Uganda was until the 1970s mined and used to manufacture glass but said he could not readily explain why it was stopped, adding that the country can resume manufacturing glass and avoid the expenditure on importation of glass and other products from sand.
“We spend a lot of money on glass and ceramics ($34 million) but we can save it by manufacturing it from our own sand. We can also get glass for houses and bottles among others.”
There has been a heated debate over the presence of Mango Tree Group Limited, a Chinese firm which was cleared by government to put a 4000 ton dredging ship on Lake Victoria recently.
The dredger ship, according to the Chinese firm is meant to clear the waterway for ships and other big vessels on the lake.
Responding to questions from journalists over the same, President Museveni said that he would not allow anybody to excavate sand from the breeding areas for fish for fear of destroying them and distinction of various fish species from the largest fresh water lake on the continent.
“Be it getting gold or whatever, nobody will be allowed to go there(breeding places) because fish must be protected. We are going to study it because I had not taken interest in it,”Museveni noted.
Last year, officials from Wakiso district and National Environment Management Authority blocked Mango Tree Group from excavating sand in Kawuku village in Katabi Town Council in Entebbe arguing that it had a negative impact on Lake Victoria and its eco-system.
NEMA explained that the licence they had issued to the Chinese farm was limited to making ships and not sand excavating.
