River Nyamwamba has in the recent past caused a lot of destruction and loss of lives as a result of flooding. The latest events resulted in the destruction of Kilembe Mines Hospital and left hundreds of area residents displaced.
The much-anticipated desilting of River Nyamwamba has started in Kasese
district. The exercise will be undertaken by Ambitious Construction Company under a 17 billion Shillings Project with activities covering a distance of 5.4 kilometres, along three major hot spots.
River
Nyamwamba has in the recent past caused a lot of destruction and loss of
lives as a result of flooding. The latest events resulted in the destruction of Kilembe Mines Hospital and left hundreds of area residents displaced.
Dr Callist Tindimugaya, a commissioner in the Ministry
of Water and Environment says the emergency maintenance measures are meant to
safeguard the population and infrastructure such as schools from being destroyed whenever it floods. He noted the three hot spot areas are those highly dominated
by the population and government infrastructure.
//Cue in; “We have handed...
Cue out... and the infrastructure.”//
Dr Tindimugaya added that there are other ongoing activities including protecting river banks, soils and conservation measures and giving alternative
livelihoods to communities neighbouring the river but hastens to add that all these may not solve the problem until a comprehensive study is done to
establish the best intervention.
//Cue in; “ I must add that...
Cue in...reduced substantially.”//
Engineer Steven Egwette, from the Ministry of Water, said that the contractor has been provided with a period of about a month for
effective mobilization and undertaking another survey to reconfirm the three
hotspots. He is certain that this intervention will go a long way in reducing the impact of flooding from the river.
//Cue in; “Before the actual...
Cue out...with the contractor.”//
The Kasese Deputy Town Clerk Kayiri Kambasu says any
intervention to mitigate flooding along Nyamwmaba is highly welcome. However, he said that there is a need for continuous mobilization
of the local population to conserve the environment.
//Cue in; “We shouldn’t think...
Cue out...once and for all.”//
Richard Bomera, the LCIII Bulembia Division in Kasese municipality
is optimistic that this long-sought intervention could save the local population from severe losses whenever it floods. He also called on the contractor to offer employment opportunities
to the local population.
Basaija is a graduate of Uganda Christian University (UCU-Mukono) holding a Bachelors Degree in Mass Communication.
He is a currently pursuing a fellowship in Gender Communications at Aga Khan University Graduate School of Media and Communications Nairobi, Kenya and expected to graduate in 2025.
He also boosts of numerous training's in the journalism arena.
Before joining URN, he had served as documentation support personnel, radio presenter and a news editor.
