NEMA deploys police at Ssese beach to save lake
This photo taken on December 4, 2021 shows murram dumped in a section of Lake Victoria at Kitubulu, former Ssese gateway beach in Katabi Town Council by the developers. PHOTOS | EVE MUGANGA
What you need to know:
- Last week , the Ruparelia Group of Companies, the firm which took over ownership of the beach, and plans to erect a multibillion hotel, denied dumping soil in the lake.
ENTEBBE. Environmental police have taken over the site at the former Ssese Gateway Beach at Kitubulu near Entebbe Town where a developer has reportedly been dumping soil into a section of Lake Victoria.
Last week, a team from the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) inspected the site and arrested five people, including site engineers and also impounded four trucks which were being used to ferry the murram.
Five suspects were arrested last week over breach of NEMA guidelines.
By the time NEMA and local leaders intervened, the developer had reportedly claimed the lake’s protected buffer zone of about five acres.
What Nema says
According to the NEMA Act, any person constructing a permanent structure in a 200-metre buffer zone must seek clearance from the authority.
Mr Tonny Acidri, the NEMA deputy spokesperson, said the environment police was deployed because the developer was acting outside the law .
“We have been getting reports that the developer is dumping soil in the lake and the environment police been deployed to the site to prevent further degradation,’’ he said on Sunday
Last week , the Ruparelia Group of Companies, the firm which took over ownership of the beach, and plans to erect a multibillion hotel, denied dumping soil in the lake.
Developer speaks out
“We undertook an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), which puts across recommendations that should be applied on site to ensure that the neighbouring ecosystem, mainly our lake, isn’t negatively impacted on. Therefore, we aren’t breaching any conditions however we applied for the lake user permit, but Nema has delayed issuing the permit,” Mr Martin Aryagaruka, the environment consultant of Ruparelia Group of Companies, said.
