Investors flout Nema guidelines in Lwera

Chinese investors growing rice in Lwera swamp, Kalungu District, have flouted some clauses in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report approved by the National Environment Management Authority (Nema), Daily Monitor has established.
An EIA certificate issued by Nema on December 21 last year, implored the investors to fulfil certain conditions before the project kicks off.
However, an investigation by this newspaper last weekend revealed that some of these conditions have not been met.
The investors were required to plant indigenous trees and grass in affected sections of the marshland and to establish woodlots on suitable sites around the project area.
They were also supposed to demarcate and fence off the permitted development area to ensure that fragile eco-systems are conserved.
The Chinese investors started rice growing in Lwera swamp in 2015 and in April this year. The fields were expanded to cover part of the vast wetland on the Kampala–Masaka highway.
Lwera swamp that stretches about 20km on the Kampala–Masaka highway is a major water catchment area that connects several rivers and wetlands in Gomba, Mpigi and Kalungu districts and drains directly into Lake Victoria.
A copy of the EIA certificate issued by Nema that Daily Monitor has seen, indicates that the Chinese investors are free to expand their rice fields on Block 184 ,Plots 254,255,256 and 258, Magezi–Kizungu Ward, Lukaya Town Council.
“This certificate [of approval of EIA ] is valid for a period of five years, the period which covers both the expansion and operation phases of the project, and this certificate may be revised upon request or when site conditions change,” a report signed by Nema executive director Tom Okurut reads in part.
Nema approved the project basing on the content of EIA statement submitted by proprietors of Zhong Industries Limited on October 23 last year.
An EIA is a critical examination of the effects of a project on the environment. “Zhong Industries Limited shall be held responsible for any omissions, falsified information or any other anomalies that are contrary to the provisions of the relevant laws governing the proposed project,” the report adds.
Nema has also warned the investors against extending rice fields to Plots 404,406 located in Kamuwunga A Village and Plots 337 and 336 located in Bulingo C Village, insisting these areas are located in Lake Victoria. Currently, rice growing in Lwera covers 3,000 acres out of the targeted 6,000 acres.
But Environmental activists under Citizen Concern Africa (CICOA) now say the Chinese investors have already violated Nema’s EIA that requires them to protect fragile eco-system in the area .
“They [investors] are spraying agro-chemicals which run through the created drainage channels and enter the lake, which is dangerous,” Mr Sam Mucunguzi , the programme coordinator at CICOA, says.
He says the investors also promised residents jobs, but majority of employees are sourced from other areas. The Nema spokesperson, Ms Naome Karekaho, declined to comment on the developments but referred us to Agriculture Minister Vincent Ssempijja whose known telephone could not be accessible by press time.
Mr Ssempijja had in a previous interview told Daily Monitor that Zhong Industries Ltd follows the guidelines given to them by government.
“Nema together with my ministry sent a technical team which assessed the rice project and approved it,” Mr Ssempijja said
Mr Ssempijja who also doubles as area MP for Kalungu West Constituency, helped in the initiation of the rice project in Lwera and has on several occasions supported the conversion of part of Lwera into an industrial park.
But Mr Richard Vvuba, the Kalungu District environment officer, says the rice growing project underwent a full environmental assessment before it kicked off.
He says the project only covers 4 per cent of the entire Lwera swamp and its impact to the environment would only manifest if the investors deviate from what is stipulated in their permit.
“My department is closely monitoring the operations of Zhong Industries, and if there is any sort of digression and we discover that it endangers the surrounding eco- system, we will certainly stop them,” he says.
Mr Peter Li Gan , the managing director of Lukaya Natural Rice Farm, which is run by Zhong Industries, says they are in the process of fulfilling all conditions in the EIA certificate. “We have started planting trees and grass, but as you know, it cannot grow overnight. I am sure in two years to come, residents will be able to get free firewood ,” he says
“There is also a lot hullabaloo about people who claim they were not compensated, that is not true . We compensated whoever was affected and we have a team of local people and town council authorities who we are working with to ensure that the community gains from this project,” Mr Li Gan adds.