Ugandans have been urged to use all water resources including lakes, rivers and wetlands to improve on agriculture. The call was made by Hon. Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi, the Vice President of Uganda, during the launch of the launch of the first ever water and environment week, at the Water resources institute, Entebbe.
The Vice president, flanked by the state minister for water, Ronald Kibuule explained that 18% of Uganda’s total surface is covered by rivers, lakes and wetland. These include; Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake, and one of the major sources of the Nile, the world’s longest river.
However, the vice president noted that only 2% of the water is used for production with only 1% of potential irrigable water. Access to water for livestock at present is estimated at 48.8%.
The VP urged Ugandans in his speech, to use all these waters bodies, to draw water for irrigation.
“Among various factors behind low productivity and low profitability of Ugandan agriculture, lack of access to water resources poses a fundamentally acute problem.
urrently, Ugandan agriculture is almost completely dependent on rain-fed agriculture due to limited access to irrigation based water sources and it makes farmers highly vulnerable to increasingly unpredictable rainfall pattern” he said.
The water and environment week 2018, runs under the theme; “Water and Environment a Catalyst for achieving Middle Income Status by 2020.”
The week’s activities include launch of the water resources institute, Entebbe among others. It will end on Thursday March 22nd, with commemoration of Water and Environment Day 2018.feat; NRM Cries Foul after Jinja Municipality loss, the vote was rigged
The ruling NRM government has criticized the electoral commission for not following laws when conducting yesterday’s Jinja East Parliamentary by-election.
During a press conference held in Jinja this morning, Justine Kasule Lumumba the party secretary general explained that an election is not just an event.
Lumumba claims that the party has evidence indicating that the FDC candidate Paul Mwiru, who emerged victor in the election rigged. She says there was multiple voting.
She further alleges that there was a series of voter bribery as the opposition party dished out money to voters at polling stations. The opposition side is accused of intimidating NRM voters by threatening violence against them if they showed up to vote.
Lumumba further says the party will not concede defeat. Mwiru polled 6,654 votes, beating seven other candidates including Nathan Igeme Nabeta of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).
Nabeta garnered 5,043 votes.
