KAMPALA – Speaker Rebecca Kadaga has tasked Government to assure Ugandans that Murchison falls won’t be tampered with saying the country’s tourism industry is under threat.
She made the remarks during today’s plenary sitting in which she demanded an explanation on the planned establishment of power generation dam at the falls.
The Speaker said: “I am seeking an assurance that Murchison falls isn’t going to be tampered with. Our tourism industry is under threat.”
The Speaker’s remarks followed a notice by Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) calling on the public to scrutinise an application from Bonang Power Energy Limited, a South African energy firm for the generation and sale of power from a plant to be set up near Murchison Falls in Kiryandongo and Nwoya districts.
In their notice, the Authority wrote:
“The Electricity Regulatory Authority has under section 29 of the Electricity Act 1999, received a notice of intended application for a license from Bonang Power Energy (Pty) Limited for the generation and sale of electricity from a hydropower plant proposed to be established near Murchison Falls, in Kiryandongo and Nwoya Districts.”
“Bonang Power Energy (Pty) Limited intends to undertake detailed feasibility studies and other activities leading to the development of the above-mentioned Power project whose proposed installed capacity is 360 MW.”
The plans to destroy the waterfalls angered many Ugandans who took to social media sites condemning the planned move with some tourism operators threatening to put up a nude protest if Government goes ahead with the planned move.
The South African based firm, Bonang argued that Uganda “seeks to build new hydropower projects at Ayago, Uhuru, Kiba and Murchison Falls and will generate 2,550 MW of electricity.
Murchison Falls is situated in the Murchison Falls national park in the northern part of the Albertine Rift Valley with the park covering an area of about 3,893km2.
