Museveni decries wetland degradation in Busoga

President Museveni Tuesday pledged to finish works left pending by former second deputy prime minister Ali Kirunda Kivejinja in Bugweri District as he decried massive wetland degradation in the Busoga Sub-region.

Museveni particularly cited the construction of the Bugweri District administration block that had been started by the veteran politician who succumbed to Covid-19 in 2020.

"I will involve the UPDF engineering brigade to come and construct this administration block as requested," he told a gathering at the 43rd Tarehe Sita celebrations held at Bugweri District Headquarters.

Earlier, Museveni first paid tribute at the home of Kivejinja in Buwabe Village in Ibulanku Sub-county.

"When I was heading to the home of Kivejinja, my plane landed somewhere but I found rice being grown in the big wetland. This irrational use of resources should stop because," he ordered.

Museveni further warned that wetland degradation is not only unprofitable but also a threat to global climate.

He vowed to return to the Busoga Sub-region to sensitize communities against misusing water bodies.

In his remarks, defence minister Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja called on the president to intervene in multiple issues affecting the region’s poor people.

“The fishing community in Busoga wants the government to extend loans so that they can be able to purchase proper fishing gear because they are committed to abandoning the illegal one,” he said.

“The fishing community wants the government to put a total ban on importation of illegal fishing gear into the country,” he added.

He also sought to inform the Ugandan leader that people in Jinja City are suffering due to land grabbing, especially around government facilities.

First Deputy Prime Minister Rebecca Kadaga asked government to introduce mineralogy courses in universities around Busoga Sub-region “so that students get knowledge in mineral exploration.”

“There should also be consideration for geology officers to be stationed in Busoga so that quick consultations about minerals can be made,” she noted.

Chief of Defense Forces General Wilson Mbasu Mbadi challenged Ugandans to “dream of leading but not destabilizing Uganda’s peace.”

"We can continue to promote democracy to the extent that anyone can dream of leading this country but not to distabilise it because we have built both capacity, strategic forces and participate in regional stability," he emphasized.

Tarehe Sita is observed annually on February 6 to mark the beginning of a guerilla war in 1981 that ushered Museveni into Uganda's leadership.