Nema orders Ruparelia to remove soil dumped at Lake Victoria shoreline
This photo taken on December 4, 2021 shows murram dumped in a section of Lake Victoria at Kitubulu, former Ssese gateway beach in Katabi Town Council by the developers. PHOTOS | EVE MUGANGA
What you need to know:
- Nema said the stop notice issued to Speke Hotel (1996) Ltd on December 10 will remain in force with weekly compliance reports submitted until the developer’s lakeshore user permit application submitted to Nema last year is disposed of.
The National Environment Management Authority (Nema) has issued strict rules to businessman Rajiv Ruparelia of Speke Hotel (1996) over a hotel project.
The investment is located at the former Ssese Gateway Beach site in Kitubulu near Entebbe Town.
Among the rules issued to Mr Ruparelia is that he has to remove all the soil dumped at the lakeshore line of Lake Victoria.
“As an instant mitigation measure, the murram that has been dumped at the fringes of the lakeshore line must be immediately drawn backwards and levelled to avoid any siltation of the lake,” a statement issued by Nema last week reads in part.
Nema said the stop notice issued to Speke Hotel (1996) Ltd on December 10 will remain in force with weekly compliance reports submitted until the developer’s lakeshore user permit application submitted to Nema last year is disposed of.
According to the Nema Act, any person constructing a permanent structure in a 200-metre buffer zone must seek clearance.
The authority also indicates that although Mr Ruparelia possesses a valid environment and social impact assessment certificate granting him permission to develop a hotel, he is not supposed to pour soil in the lake.
The directive to remove soil followed a meeting chaired by NEMA executive director, Dr. Barirega Akankwasah, in which it was discussed how to sustainably undertake the project in Kitubulu, Katabi sub-county, Wakiso District, without compromising the integrity of Lake Victoria and the surrounding environment.
According to Rajiv they intend to construct a resort and convention centre on Lake Victoria shores which will cost about 100 million US Dollars (about Shs355 billion).
The project is currently at the stage of ground leveling and construction.
He claimed that Ms Maria Assumpta Nakamya, a concerned citizen who raised alarm over the soil dumping wants to sabotage the project because she is "not even a resident of Katabi.
He claimed that his workers have been dumping soil in his land, not the lake and that due to the high water levels of the lake, seven out of 20 acres for the project is currently submerged.
"But we have not entered an inch into the lake even though the lake has eaten into our acreage," he said.
