NFA gets backlash over forest land giveaway

Locals in Kaberamaido County have called upon their local leaders and area Members of Parliament to block any attempts by National Forestry Authority (NFA) to lease 900 hectares of central forest reserves to private developers.
NFA is mandated to manage all central forest reserves in the country but residents, some of whom applied through a bidding process for NFA to allocate them some acres for commercial use but were not considered, insist they must be given first priority before outsiders are considered.

NFA last year called for bids and advertised in the media in July that it wanted to hire all the forest reserves to individuals to venture into commercial tree growing on a 49-year lease basis.
Last month, the forestry authority released a list of the successful applicants.
In a stakeholders’ meeting attended by NFA staff and the area leaders, the aggrieved locals queried the criteria followed in the distribution of the said land.
They wondered how NFA would give out 900 hectares of land to persons outside Kaberamaido District on the watch of their elected leaders.
Mr Victor Ekesu, a former Kaberamaido District LC5 chairperson, said the forest reserve has been a key area for grazing cattle for more than 2,000 people in Alwa Parish.

He added that this will affect the livelihood of the locals in Alwa Parish, who have been grazing cattle on the said land since the colonial days.
“We are not claiming ownership of the land, but it’s unfair that after over 100 years of the locals keeping the forest in trust for government, they are not being considered,” Mr Ekesu explained.
He said in order to show goodwill, NFA should grant the locals from Alwa at least 60 per cent of the land.
“We shall know how to plant trees on it and at the same time use it for our animal keeping,” Mr Ekesu said.

Mr Joseph Ekemu, an aggrieved resident, said he applied for the forest land but his request was unjustly rejected by NFA.
He also accused NFA officials of cutting down natural forests bearing indigenous trees and replacing them with foreign tree spices which he said are not suitable for the soil and climate of the region.
“We ask our MPS to intervene and stop this unfair lease of 900 hectares of land by NFA who have not given us first priority,” Mr Ekemu appealed.

The area woman MP, Ms Maria Goretti Ajilo, said the leasing process should be done afresh, adding that first priority should be given to the locals.
Ms Ajilo added that she also applied for a lease on the forest land, describing the process as flawed.
“I applied equally for land to plant trees on the said land, my application was unilaterally rejected. So my people, your plight is my plight, I stand by you, I will forward your reservations to the line offices soon,” she said.

However, the NFA manager for Teso Sub-region, Mr Milton Agaba, dismissed the allegations, saying the authority followed the right procedure.
He added that NFA had given the community of Alwa five per cent of the forest land.
Mr Agaba said people were asked to apply to be considered.
“People paid and we received their applications in multitudes, but not all succeeded. The best were evaluated, it’s those names that we have as the successful persons who have been allocated land in Atigo forest reserve,” he said.

Mr Agaba said NFA used to give land to locals across the country but they would use the land for cultivating food crops instead of planting trees.
He said NFA would evaluate the grievances of the locals of Alwa Parish and address them if they are justified.
Mr Agaba added that NFA has more than 1,700 hectares of land in the three forest reserves of Atigo, Acwali and Acwegwen, which are being leased to people to plant trees on it.

FOREST COVER
Forest and woodland cover in Uganda stands at 49,000 km² ( 24 per cent) of the total land area. Of these 9,242.08 km² is tropical rainforest, 350.60 km² are forest plantations and 39,741.02 km² is woodland. Thirty per cent of these areas are protected as national parks, wildlife reserves or central forest reserves.