Prime
Masaka rejects proposal to degazette Kumbu forest reserve
Masaka City leaders have scoffed at a proposal by Kimanya/Kabonera Division to have the Kumbu forest reserve degazetted for development projects.
What you need to know:
- According to the proposal, Kimanya/Kabonera Division leaders argue that the degazettement of the forest reserve could open up more land for several projects
Masaka City leaders have scoffed at a proposal by Kimanya/Kabonera Division to have the Kumbu forest reserve degazetted for development projects.
According to the proposal, Kimanya/Kabonera Division leaders argue that the degazettement of the forest reserve could open up more land for several projects.
But Ms Florence Namayanja, the city mayor, said the forest reserve, located on the outskirts of the city, once degazetted, will affect the city environment plans and disorganise the water source for the area.
“The move is very dangerous and unacceptable at a time when we are fighting to restore nature through different environmental initiatives. It is high time the community joined the front to preserve Kumbu forest reserve,” she said on Tuesday.
Ms Namayanja said the different environment sensitisation campaigns initiated by the city would sound counterproductive if the city council blessed the move to degazette the forest.
“Kimanya/Kabonera Division should be at the forefront of plans to preserve Kumbu forest since the council is already aware that it serves as our ecosystem with Nabujjuzi swamp where the NWSC pumps the water supplied to Masaka City,” the mayor said.
According to a plan delivered to Masaka City Council, the Kimanya /Kabonero Division leaders said the forest, once degazetted, will pave the way for the construction of a golf course, among other infrastructure projects.
Justification
The division officials further claim that the forest reserve is now a hideout for criminals, hence a security risk.
But Mr Abed Bwanika, the Kimanya /Kabonera MP, in an interview with this newspaper vowed to block any attempt to degazette the forest reserve
“The Masaka City authorities should consider planting more trees to boost the forest cover. We need to preserve the forest. When the proposal is tabled, I will be among the first leaders to oppose that particular line of thinking. Forest degazetting is not easy, this will have to pass through the different stakeholders,” he said.
When contacted, Kimanya/Kabonera Division Mayor Steven Lukyamuzi refuted plans to degazette the forest reserve.
“I wonder how the proposal to degazette the Kumbu forest reserve found its way to the city mayor’s report yet our own council at the division had not even debated the same. This is not our position as the Kimanya/Kabonera Division,” he said.
“This issue came up at one time during our subsequent council meetings but we never gave it time since it was not a priority. We care about our environment. I wonder why this issue is coming up now without our input,” he added.
In 2018, the Minister of Water and Environment, Mr Sam Cheptoris, stopped the attempted giveaway of the forest reserve. The then Masaka District Council had suggested the establishment of a Golf Course on the land at the time.
The State Minister for Energy Mr Sidronius Okaasai Opolot last month revealed that Uganda loses about 120,000 hectares of forest cover annually.
