Cabinet divided on Murchison Falls hydro power project

Cabinet is divided on the proposal to construct a hydro power dam at Murchison falls with some of the members approving the move while others opposing it.

President Museveni said earlier in the week that government will go ahead with its plan to construct the dam, saying that those arguing against it have no idea on what they are sayıng.

Museveni said that the dam will be used to overcome several bottlenecks in the development of the country by powering industries.

"Powering industries had been one of the problems to Uganda's economic growth but this has changed with the current abundant power supply. The falls would be harnessed to overcome other bottlenecks," Museveni said in part.

However, during a cabinet meeting this week, members agreed that further consultations should be made about the matter with a possibility of establishing whether the falls can co-exist alongside the dam.

A day later while meeting with stakeholders in the tourism and wildlife sector, State Minister for Tourism Godfrey Kiwanda said that the "falls are part of the tourism in the country and removing them with threaten revenue in the tourism sector."

He said that they should consider speaker Rebecca Kadaga's plea in June in this year, when the speaker urged government not to permit construction of a dam at Murchison.

In June this year, Electricity Regulatory Authority in an advertisement in the newspapers said that, in accordance with section 29 of the Electricity Act 1999, they had received a notice of intended application of a license from Bonang Power and Energy (Pty) Limited for the generation and sale of electricity from a hydropower plant proposed to be established near Murchison falls in Kiryandongo and Nwoya districts, something that attracted backlash from the public and tourism enthusiasts.

Challa Elma Kapel, a former Miss Tourism Uganda said that this is a shame to the county if we think of even destroying God given natural resources like Murchison Falls for the benefit of a few individuals.

"I would say that it's a shame that we can trade what God gave us as a country and have effort to destroy one of the greatest income generators yet our country is at risk of poverty. I don't support anything that involves destroying what we have naturally cause it's never gotten back," Challa told Nile Post.