APAC– Mr Mohammed Sadule Mayauja, the special presidential advisor, RDC desk office of the president has resolved to petition the Apac district land board and ministry of land and environment over allowing the indiscriminate destruction of forests that form the buffer zone for river Nile in this area of Ibuje sub-county in Apac district.
This comes after Mayauja visited the river Nile Ibuje sub-county and found out that there is too much destruction of natural trees in community land for charcoal and reclaiming river Nile.
Mayauja said it is due to complaint logged by RDC Apac, Beatrice Akello Akori and the local communities that police in this district and OC for Ibuje police post have allowed the indiscriminate destruction of forests that form the buffer zone for river Nile in this area.
While speaking to PML daily reporter, Mayauja added that individuals who have a lot of money have started fencing off stretches of land in hundreds of acres, land which is communal and forms the buffer zone of the river Nile.
“They must petition the district land board, ministry of land and environment to ensure that this type of activity that is likely to compromise our environment protection policy is dealt away with,” he said.
He added that the land was a free grazing area where the local animal keepers in this area were guaranteed the safety of the land along the river basin but because selfish people have emerged and decided to fence off the land which was formally being used by the people and the land that forms the river bank.
He called upon NEMA and other agencies responsible for the environment, the security officer and police to ensure that this type of impurity does not continue and must stop also adding that people who encroached into the community land and river Nile had only titles for pieces of land upland, not towards the river.
He said O.C for Ibuje police post, some police officer in the district and at the region who allowed the indiscriminate destruction of forest and river Nile have to be removed from the office.
Eunice Abia, district land officer for Apac confirmed that there is a high level of encroachment into the community land and river Nile area.
