Allan Atugonza, the Buliisa County Member of parliament informed the president that since 2022, at least 18 people have been killed, and numerous others injured by elephants and buffaloes in Buliisa district alone while several hectares of garden crops have been destroyed stray elephants and Buffaloes from Murchison National Park.
Leaders
in Buliisa have tasked President Museveni to intervene
and immediately address the problem of the rampant invasion of elephants from Murchison
National Park.
The leaders who were on Tuesday meeting the President at Somsio
Village in Walukuba parish, Butiaba sub-county stated that many lives have been
lost and garden crops destroyed as a result of the rampant invasion of elephants
and Buffaloes straying into the community.
They say despite several interventions; the attacks have persisted
and the government has kept a deaf ear.
Allan Atugonza, the Buliisa County Member of parliament informed
the President that since 2022, at least 18 people have been killed, and
numerous others injured by elephants and buffaloes in the Buliisa district alone while
several hectares of garden crops have been destroyed by stray elephants and
Buffaloes from Murchison National Park.
He tasked the president to personally intervene and have
the problem of wild animals straying into the community solved once and for
all.
//Cue in: “Your excellency in…
Cue out:… that they know.”//
Norah Bigrwa, the Buliisa woman Member of Parliament stated
that despite multiple complaints raised by both leaders and the affected
communities, UWA has failed to offer a lasting solution to the crisis and
therefore tasked the president to assure the residents and leaders of a lasting
solution.
Bigirwa wants the government to compensate the affected
residents for the loss of lives, crops destroyed and injuries inflicted on some of
the community members by the wild animals.
//Cue in: “Buliisa has suffered…
Cue out:…pay these people.”//
Norman Lukumu, the Buliisa LCV Chairperson noted that if
the situation is not managed immediately, there is likely to be an outbreak of
famine in the area following the continued destruction of their crops by the
animals.
Kamanda Kabagambe, the Buliisa LCIII Chairperson noted that
in his area alone six people have been killed by elephants in the past three
years, yet UWA has never compensated their families.
According to Kabagambe, it
is only the President who can intervene so that the communities settling
adjacent to the game park can have peace.
In response, President Museveni said that the government had embarked on the
process of erecting an electric fence to surround the park and that he was yet to
get a response from the Ministry of Tourism and Uganda Wildlife Authority.
He
says soon, a lasting solution will be found and residents settling adjacent to
the park will settle peacefully.
Museveni says he had received several complaints about the
rampant invasion of stray elephants and Buffaloes into the communities in Buliisa.
//Cue in: “so hati ebya…
Cue out:… have told me.”//
Museveni is in Bunyoro to assess the implementation and
progress of the Parish Development Model (PDM) fishermen operating on Lake
Albert against depletion of fish species.
He says he was compelled to deploy the Fisheries Protection
Unit (FPU) on the lake after he received reports that fishermen were engaging
in wrong fishing practices.
He says the fishermen had resorted to using unrecommended
fishing gear to catch immature fish hence depleting the lake.
//Cue in: “Inywe ninywe aba…
Cue out:…okwija no zirora.”//
President Museveni is in the Bunyoro sub-region to assess the implementation and progress of the Parish Development Model (PDM).
On PDM, the President tasked the people of Buliisa and
Bunyoro at large to jealously embrace the program saying it is a game-changer
that will enable Ugandans to transform from subsistence to a money economy.
Museveni further noted that the PDM is intended to promote
increased incomes through modernization of agriculture, industrialization,
services and information technology adding that it is a strategy initiated by
his government aimed at enhancing incomes and welfare of all Ugandans at the
household level.
Museveni says, if well embraced, PDM will increase
household incomes and improve the quality of life of Ugandans with a specific focus
on the total transformation of the subsistence households into the money
economy as well as the eradication of poverty and Vulnerability in Uganda.
//Cue in: “Nabwekyo nimbasaba inywena…
Cue out:…nkoku zira genda.”//
The PDM aims to address various pillars, including
financial inclusion, infrastructure development, agricultural value chain
development, social services, community mobilization, governance, and
administration.
The PDM is intended to be a Parish revolving fund where
beneficiaries receive low-cost loans for income-generating investments.
