We will not give away Murchison falls now, may be in future- Government

Government has said they will not give away Murchison falls for the construction of a hydropower plant tipped to generate over 260 megawatts.

The announcement was made by the Minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities Ephraim Kamuntu at the media center on Tuesday.

According to Kamuntu, a position was taken by the cabinet to halt the give away of Murchison falls to Bonang Power Energy limited to establish a hydropower plant near the falls in Kiryadongo and Nwoya districts.

“The decision was taken that the project will not proceed. The argument is on an economic basis.  Whereas 360megawatts is a very good contribution to our hydropower, there was an argument that we would lose millions of tourism revenue in the long run,” Kamuntu said.

“The argument, therefore, is that we could retain revenue through tourism and find ways of obtaining the 360megawatts elsewhere,” he added.

Kamuntu said that the investor will be engaged to start a new project where it is feasible. This is because the government doesn’t want to lose money by compensating the investor.

He also hinted that the decision may not be as binding as it seems.

“In the current knowledge, we have halted the project. However, in the future, we could revisit the decision based on new knowledge and technology.”

Murchison Falls lies in Murchison/ Kabalega national park. In 1926, the park was a game reserve established to shelter the savannah grassland which was pointed out by Winston Church chill in the year 1907 as the grand Kew Gardens together with the wildlife combined on an unconfined land