Fort Portal to become forest city by 2025

Tree planting plan Part of Fort Portal Town that is set to become a forest city. PHOTO BY FELIX Basiime

What you need to know:

  • Partners. The tree planting project in Fort Portal Town is being supported by the National Forestry Authority, Rotary Club of Kabarole District, and non-governmental organisations.

FORT PORTAL. Fort Portal, the main town of Kabarole District, is set to become a forest city as planned by the current leadership.
In a bid to achieve the dream, leaders and other stakeholders in Fort Portal Municipality have embarked on a campaign to plant trees to make it the cleanest town in the country by 2025.
Leaders including division chairperson, Fort Portal Municipality mayor and other development partners since 2016, have been planting trees in Fort Portal Town with a target of planting one million trees in South Division in five years.
“The project of making Fort Portal Municipality a green city was initiated by the municipal council after the government passed the National Vision 2040 of making Fort Portal a tourism city,” Mr Herbert Mugisa, the chairman South Division, said.
Mr Mugisa said in each financial year, the South Division sets aside Shs2m to buy tree seedlings and also maintain the already planted trees and green belt around the town.
Since the inception of the project, more than 20,000 trees have been planted by South Division Council on the streets.
The tree planting project in the town is being supported by the National Forestry Authority, Rotary Club of Kabarole District, and non-governmental organisations.
Religious leaders, community and environmental officers have embraced the idea of making Fort Portal Municipality a green city by 2025.
The Fort Portal Municipality mayor, Rev Willy Kintu Muhanga, said they target to plant trees that are town friendly such as fruit trees and short shrub trees.
According to Rev Muhanga, bylaws have been passed by the municipal council where event organisers in the town will be required to first plant trees before starting their functions as one way of increasing the numbers of trees.
He said during functions such as motor rallies, public holiday events and other activities organised by non-governmental organisations, participants will be requested to plant trees.
“When you call any leader in Fort Portal Municipality to be a chief guest, the first item on the agenda is to plant a tree. We want even people who organise shows to do the same as our by-law says,” Rev Muhanga said.
A case in point was last Monday when judicial officers, including Chief Justice Bart Katureebe planted a tree at the Fort Portal Court Open Day.
Rev Muhanga said funds from Uganda Road Fund have been used to purchase more than 10,000 tree seedlings that have been planted on Kasusu-Rubingo road, Bukwali-Kitahulizo and Balya road.
Fort Portal Municipality, according to Rev Muhanga, was known as a place with cool temperature where everyone admired to stay but currently it has been affected by climate change.
Mr Francis Nyamungo, the Fort Portal Municipality clerk, said trees need to be maintained not only by technical people but the entire community.
Fort Portal Town was named after Sir Gerald Portal, a British special commissioner to Uganda, whose statue stands in a green belt on Kyembambe road.
Located in western Uganda, it is about 300km by road, west of Kampala on an all tarmac two-lane highway.
Being within the proximity of several tourist attractions and national parks such as Queen Elizabeth National Park, Semuliki National Park and Rwenzori Mountains make Fort Portal the number one tourist town in the country.
Outside the municipality, the green tea plantations provide good scenery that contributes to the beauty of the area.
South Division that covers the biggest part of the municipality has beautification of the town as one of its big projects. Each year it spends Shs121.5m in its budget for town beautification.
The urban authorities have also promoted private public partnership where they have involved other institutions such as Kabarole hospital to maintain the green belt along Fort Portal-Kasese Road.
People have also been sensitised on how to use the garbage skips, how to protect the green belts in town and also enforcement officers have been recruited. In partnership with World Bank and Nema, the municipal authorities established a garbage recycling plant at Kitere where a manure processing unit has been established and sells manure cheaply.