The Local Council (LC) 5 chairperson of Hoima district, Kadir Karungi, has died in a road accident while driving from Hoima to Kampala.

It is not yet what caused the late Friday night accident; police is gathering further information and is yet to make a statement.

Preliminary information that one other person believed to be Karungi’s bodyguard was also killed in the fatal accident.

The killer accident happened at Kateera on Hoima- Kampala highway.

By Paul Kato

As Uganda is concluding the celebrations of this year’s Water Week under the theme Water and Environment for Climate Resilience Development, a lot needs to be done to achieve the set goals of combating climate change. 

Uganda continues to grapple with floods, prolonged drought and change of seasons among others.

The Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) has been trying to ensure that critical ecosystems such as forests, water bodies, wetlands and others are protected from human activities such as deforestation, mining, agriculture and others. 

Sensitive biodiversity zones are still under pressure from local communities, investors and rich businessmen carrying out agriculture activities and mining.  

However, to overcome the human activities that contribute to the destruction of protected areas, MWE and other sister agencies need to work with the parliament to review and operationalize environmental laws.

The ministry also has to increase 

environmental budget allocation for running the ministry’s work, stop all oil activities and other oil-related activities in protected areas like national parks, water bodies, wetlands and forests. 

Also, the ministry must increase investments in the renewable energy sector, especially solar which is reliable, affordable and clean and ensure that there is increased access and participation of women in clean energy because they are vulnerable to the climate crisis.

In addition to that, the ministry and the sister agencies need also to sensitize local communities about the relevance of conserving the environment and empower women and the youth to partake in eco-friendly activities.

These eco-friendly activities may include fish rearing, beekeeping and growing fruit trees, training the local communities the good methods of farming and cancelling all the land titles that were issued in the wetlands.

The above solutions will help to increase the efforts of environmental conservation, mitigate the climate change that Uganda is grappling with and reduce environmental cases caused by encroachers in the country.

Therefore, I call upon the Ministry of Water and Environment and other sister agencies to work together to ensure that the above environmental conservation measures are implemented. 

Paul Kato is a Research Associate and Environmental Activist.

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By George Businge

Residents in Nyamigisa Village, Butoole Parish, Kyangwali Sub County in Kikuube district have raised a red flag over the continued destruction of wetlands in the area.

The residents say Nyamigisa wetland which is a crucial source of water in the area is vanishing as several people have invaded and occupied it for rice growing.

Nyamigisa wetland, measuring approximately 100 acres, residents say has encroached on a high-ranking retired Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF) officer who secured its ownership.

He has since started renting it to people who are growing rice and tomatoes at three hundred thousand shillings per acre every season.

Bosco Kato and other residents are concerned that the continued destruction is going to worsen the water situation and hence the need to protect it.

Kato explains that people who are growing rice and tomatoes are using herbicide sprays which are putting their lives at risk.

Robert Balimunsi, one of the area leaders, says that he is concerned about the education of the children who spends all the time chasing birds from rice.

The locals reported the matter to the Kikuube Resident District Commissioner, Amlan, who assessed the situation and issued a one-week ultimatum for the people who are growing rice and tomatoes in the wetland to vacate peacefully.

Tumusiime says that it is very unfortunate that Ugandans have remained adamant and continue to destroy wetlands.

Sam Tumukunde, one of the people occupying the wetland, told Earthfinds that they are doing this to earn a living because they are poor and have nowhere else.

According to the environment officer of Kikuube district, there are only three bigger gazetted wetlands in the district that include Wambabya, Nguse and Kafu.

The rest are small tributaries which people are taking advantage of to destroy something that requires concerted efforts to preserve the water sources from further destruction.

TotalEnergies EP Uganda Wednesday unveiled 200 Ugandan youth who have been selected from the Tilenga MOOC to join the Tilenga Academy training program aimed at empowering youth with skills and international certifications to work on the Tilenga project during the production phase.

The selected candidates will receive training for 2.5 years at various locations starting with the Uganda Petroleum Institute in Kigumba (UPIK) followed by international Oil and Gas training centres and hands-on experience during Tilenga project installation and commissioning.

The courses to be undertaken include theoretical training in Oil and Gas, Production, Maintenance, as well as Health, Safety and Environment. 31% of the trainees will specialise in Production, 27% in Mechanical Maintenance, 26% in Instrumentation Maintenance, and 16% in Electrical Maintenance.

“National content development is at the heart of our operations and underpins our commitment to achieving shared prosperity for Uganda and Ugandans because of this great project. When we launched the Tilenga MOOC in 2021, our objective was clear, to ensure that we maximise awareness and participation of Ugandans in the oil and gas sector,” said Philippe Groueix, General Manager, TotalEnergies EP Uganda.

“I am particularly proud to highlight the diversity of the selected trainees,” he added. The first cohort comprising 100 trainees is expected to be mobilized on site in the first quarter of 2025, while the second cohort will be mobilized in the second half of 2025. The successful trainees will have the opportunity to work at site on the Tilenga project.