The forest reserve that is under the National Forest Authority – NFA was destroyed by individuals who have partly constructed buildings, planted eucalyptus as well as acquired land titles on it.
Eng. Felix Mwanje Semujju, the Wakiso Sub County LC 3 Chairman, says that the action of collecting silt from the channel is good since it eases water passage through Nansana, Sentema Road and Mityana Road as well as Buloba-Nsangi bridges.
Matiya Lwanga Bwanika says that the people involved in degrading the environment especially participating in unacceptable sand mining, wiping out natural forests by cutting down trees and thereafter grabbing land meant for forest reserves are mostly high profile people who are known to be untouchable and therefore no policy from the current regime can apprehend them.
Several residents in areas along Kiteezi – Kabaga road have raised concerns about the trucks which dump garbage along the roads and near their homes. The most affected villages include Nameere, Kizingiza, Lusanja, Kiteezi, Kabaga and Kabwoko.
According to Muwanga, following their complaints the company started diverting the smoke into water sources that are used by the community. She says the discharge of the smoke into water sources exposes the lives of hundreds of people to danger.
NEMA attributes the problems to the high levels of urbanization and lack of adequate sensitisation and equipment for the technical teams to address the challenges.
James Lutaaya, one of the residents, says they want the government to deduct the 5 acres of land required for the construction of the school from the forest reserve.
Dr John Walakira, a Senior Scientist at the National Agriculture Research Organization (NARO) says the aquatic health laboratory will ease the burden of testing for fish diseases and disease producing agents like bacteria, viruses and another small organism in Uganda.
Eng. Lillian Namutebi from Wakiso District Works Department, says they intend to widen the road in the swamp from the current 7 meters to 12 meters to avoid inconvenience when the construction work starts.
Ali Wamala Ngudde, a resident, claims that some people own titles in the areas which the ministry is claiming to be wetlands. He says that the ministry needs to be careful while trading on their land.
The CSO’s with help from two French-based organizations including Friends of the Earth and Survie dragged Total to Nanterre High court claiming that through its subsidiary Total E&P Uganda had failed to come up with a vigilance plan to address the human and environmental impact of its operations at Tilenga site in the Albertine region as required by the 2017 French law on duty of vigilance.
In this Christmas festival season, the situation has escalated with residents in different areas complaining about the unbearable levels of noise which covers almost twelve hours of the night. although residents in different areas have filed their complaints with the local government, the situation is yet to change.
Eng. Nicholas Lubanga, one of the officials from the Water and Environment Ministry overseeing the project, says the mistakes that lead to loss of the crops could be expected since it was the first time for the farmers to interface with irrigation technology.
According to the Water Ministry, access to water in the stands at 68 per cent with 132,322 domestic water points serving over 27.1 million people of which 22.1 million are in rural areas. The records shade a healthier picture of progress across the country with access rates varying from 33 per cent in Buvuma to 95 per cent in Pader District.
Community service, locally known as Bulungi Bwansi, is one of the Kiganda traditions aimed at encouraging voluntary community involvement in keeping the environs clean. However, with time, the tradition has been fading away.
This year's camp was organised under the theme; “Living by the scout promise and law”. St Geralds Secondary School Nyakibaale became the overall winners for this year in the secondary school category followed by Rukungiri Primary Teachers College boys.
The National Environment Management Authority-NEMA Executive Director Dr. Tom Okurut says the laws allow sustainable wetland utilization although the activity should be set at a level that can be maintained for the future.
