Museveni’s NUP friend Joel Ssenyonyi receives a response from the President on wetlands

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has directed people who stay and operate in wetlands to vacate them peacefully.

“I have been seeing some scuffle between the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and some people who are in the wetland. My advice to the people in the wetland is that they should all leave peacefully. I have been seeing people commenting that where was NEMA when these people were putting up these buildings? Why didn't they stop them? But why should it be NEMA stopping these people? Don't you have eyes to see a swamp? You don't need NEMA, who doesn't know what a swamp is, why do you need NEMA to stop you as if you are an idiot? But even NEMA should not take on that responsibility, because they don't have enough manpower,” he said.
The President made the remarks today while officiating at the 3rd Annual Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Conference and Dissemination of the Local Government Management of Service Delivery Report and Parish Development Model (PDM) Implementation held at Speke Resort, Munyonyo.
The two-day conference was attended by Resident District/City Commissioners (RDCs/RCCs), District Chairpersons, City and Municipal Mayors, Government Officials, Development Partners, Private Sector, among others.
It ran under the theme: “Strengthening Localization and Service Delivery Mechanisms for National Development and SDG Acceleration and Transformation”.
According to President Museveni, the only few people in the wetlands whom he offered to help are those in Busoga, Bukedi and Kigezi who were misled by the colonial and some independence governments to go into the swamps.
“They misled our people to go into the Kibimba swamp to grow swamp rice. If you claim that these ones have been there for a long time, how? I fought in the Luwero Triangle, I know every swamp there and when I was capturing Kampala, nobody was in the swamp. All these people have gone in the swamps knowingly and because of the collusion of the local leaders. What I want NEMA to explain to me is why they have never held the Parish Chiefs, the Gombolola Chiefs and the GISOs accountable, what are those people doing?” he wondered.
President Museveni further explained that encroaching on wetlands has adverse effects such as desertification.
“Uganda will become a desert, can we afford that? It affects the rain; 40 percent of the rain we get is from wetlands. It also affects our ability for irrigation. Our plan is to stabilise agriculture through irrigation but where shall we get water for irrigation if the people have dried the wetlands? You who are in the swamps, you are threatening us, you want Uganda to become a desert and don't want us to have water for irrigation. Those wetlands are a source of wealth because they have resources like grass for mulching, papyrus, mudfish, among others. It also filters water,” he said.
On the other hand, President Museveni urged that the much-desired SDGs can only be achieved if societies undergo socio-economic transformation.
The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges the world face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice.
“If you look at my speech sometime back, I told some people that in my view, there's no way you can get those SDGs without the socio-economic transformation,” he said.
President Museveni however revealed that the socio-economic transformation can also be achieved if adults actively get involved in the four sectors of the economy which include commercial agriculture, industry/manufacturing, services and ICT.
“In order to have the transformation, you also need infrastructure. You should emphasise this. When we were in Nairobi the other day, when the World Bank called us there with President Ruto, I told them that all these things you talk about like sustainable development but without dealing with the infrastructure, you are not serious. How will you support factories if you don't have electricity? How will you support production without cheap transport like the railway? That is very crucial, and we are going to sort that out,” he said.
Furthermore, the President decried the high level of corruption in the country which cripples development. He however rallied Ugandans to work hand in hand in order to ensure that the vice is successfully dealt with.
“The biggest problem we have now is corruption. This corruption is not happening on the moon, it's happening here in the district, sub county and a constituency. Of course, now, I have opened a war on the corrupt so be sure that you are not in my gunsight. We cannot let our people down,” he said.