Nakonyen Valley Dam in Nakonyen Village, Tapac Sub-County in Moroto District. PHOTO/SIMON PETER EMWAMU
An ambitious Shs8 billion valley dam project in northeastern Uganda has been severely damaged by flash floods, sparking anger and renewed questions over planning, transparency and inter-ministerial coordination.
The Nakonyen Valley Dam in Tapac Sub-county, Moroto District, intended to ease water shortages and support commercial agriculture, was washed out after torrential rains triggered a surge of runoff from Mount Moroto over the weekend.
Local leaders say the damage occurred after water overwhelmed the dam’s improvised basements and tore through its weak points, leaving behind deep ravines and exposed earth.
The dam, which sits on 1.5 square kilometers, was designed to harness water from seasonal rivers for irrigation and livestock use.
David Koryang, the district chairperson, said the collapse of the dam was a “monumental loss” to communities who had hoped it would ease water scarcity in the arid Karamoja region.
“We were told this project was worth Shs8 billion, but what’s left here does not resemble a dam at all,” Koryang told Monitor at the site on May 13.
“The little work that had been done was washed away. This is a project we have had no say in because it was fully run by central government,” he explained.
Koryang added that although the project was initially under the Ministry of Water and Environment, it was later handed over to the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), but communication and oversight remained opaque.
“Since 2023, the people of Tapac have not benefited from this dam. Their animals cannot access water, and it remains incomplete,” Koryang revealed.
Local council chairperson Joseph Pulkol said locating the dam directly along a seasonal riverbed was a grave design error.
“This was poor planning. The river from Mount Moroto floods every rainy season. Placing a dam in its path without robust reinforcements was bound to end in disaster,” he said.
Pulkol also questioned the lack of transparency saying: “We don’t know who the contractor is. The only sign of life at the site are soldiers guarding idle equipment.”
Disputed account
While locals accuse the government of negligence and mismanagement, the Ministry of Agriculture disputes claims that the dam was washed away.
“This damage is not as grave as has been reported,” said ministry spokesperson Charlotte Kemigyisha. “Our technical teams are on the ground.”
Engineer Boniface Okanya, a commissioner at MAAIF, told Monitor that the breach was intentional.
“We didn’t lose the dam. We opened it technically using a grader to allow water to pass and relieve pressure. It was a weak link we identified,” Okanya said.
He added that work had resumed and the ministry expects to complete the project within a month.
“It’s one of the dams we want to hand over soon. Our equipment and staff are at the site, and we’re finalising the embankment,” he said.
The dam is part of a wider government strategy to boost irrigation and food production in water-stressed regions. But this latest setback, coupled with reports of similar stalled projects like the Naput dam, has raised alarm over project delivery and long-term sustainability.
In 2023, members of the agriculture committee of Parliament visited the site and found construction had stalled for months, with minimal progress on the ground.
Government Disconnect
Amid finger-pointing between ministries, angry residents and local leaders say they remain sidelined.
“These are top-down projects with little local involvement. That’s why we’re seeing white elephants instead of working infrastructure,” said one local elder, gesturing to the ravaged landscape.
As Uganda continues to invest in large-scale rural infrastructure, the fate of the Nakonyen Valley Dam raises critical questions about accountability, technical oversight, and whether citizens in remote regions will ultimately benefit from such billion-shilling projects.
