Fury over Murchison Falls

Niagara and Victoria Falls

Some Ugandans have even wondered why Uganda’s waterfalls cannot generate electricity but also serve their tourism function, citing the Niagara Falls in Canada/USA and the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe/Zambia— waterfalls which have maintained their natural allure but also generate electricity for these four countries.

It is even more intriguing that the developers of hydro electricity projects over the Niagara and Victoria Falls did so at the beginning of the 20th century when technology was not as advanced as it is today.

Evarist Asiimwe, a local engineer told The Independent on June 21 that it is impossible to have the dam and the water falls in the same place.

But Alex Kwatampora Binego, a geotechnical engineer who has worked on feasibility studies of the Bujagali and Isimba hydro electricity power projects told The Independent that the submersion of the Rippon Falls after the construction of the Owen Falls Dam was because the level of engineering was not quite advanced as today.

He told The Independent that when engineers are looking at building hydro electricity dams; they always look for the highest point from where a good volume of water can be harnessed to run the turbines.

Kwatampora has in the past been involved with surveying and assessing the best sites for the Bujagali and Isimba hydro power stations on the Nile.

He told The Independent that when tourism enthusiasts raised similar concerns about Isimba Dam submerging both Kalagala and Itanda Falls in Jinja, which are farther upstream of the project, he worked alongside German engineers to find a suitable site where enough power would be generated without tampering with the integrity of the waterfalls upstream of the project.

He told The Independent that the spot where Isimba dam stands today is about 300 metres away from what the government technocrats had initially proposed as the best site for the dam.

Kwatampora says that with a very good design, the dam and the falls can co-exist but for Murchison Falls, it can never retain its original scenic beauty since its geology has to be chiseled away.

Whatever the case, Dickens Kamugisha, the head of the Africa Institute for Energy Governance, a Kampala-based non-profit told The Independent that any proposal therefore to allow a feasibility study for the development of a dam at Murchison Falls must be rejected.” On June 17, AFIEGO wrote to the head of ERA, Eng. Ziria Tibalwa Waako, saying ERA should not approve the application to undertake studies for the development of a hydropower dam at the Murchison falls citing the waterfalls’ importance in providing employment, foreign exchange and sheer national pride.

“It is “unthinkable” that at a time when tourism remains one of the biggest sources of the government revenue and at a time when Murchison Falls and the entire Murchison landscape is being threatened by oil activities, ERA allowed companies to commence discussions to conduct feasibility studies that may inevitably lead to destruction of the Murchison Falls,” AFIEGO wrote.

“The above services cannot be replaced by electricity moreover which Ugandans cannot afford to consume.”

AFIEGO explained in its response that ERA has failed to sell excess power from Isimba and other dams and as a result Ugandans including both power consumers and non-consumers, are being forced by ERA and the government to pay for redundant excess power tariffs and through repayment of the national debt.

AFIEGO said only 20.5% of Ugandans have access to electricity yet the electricity sector contributes to over 30% of the national debt.

AFIEGO tasked ERA to explain the relevance of electricity in the country that ordinary citizens and manufacturers cannot afford to use.

“Manufacturers continue to complain about power prices being too high constraining industrialization efforts and therefore the sector’s ability to offer sufficient and decent employment.”

Murchison Falls National Park also happens to be the host of over half of Uganda’s oil resources with over 70% of the 400 oil wells under Total E&P (U) Ltd’s Tilenga project. The government went ahead and approved the project despite tourism operators and conservationists arguing that the oil project will fundamentally affect tourism.

“Before the above challenges are addressed, ERA is commencing the process of allowing the destruction of Murchison Falls through allowing a dam,” Dickens Kamugisha, the head of AFIEGO said, “Once a feasibility study is conducted, destruction of the waterfalls will commence.”

Kamugisha says electricity generated in Uganda is too expensive. He says for its 40 million people, industries and commercial consumers, the country consume a mere 500MW during peak hours and far less during off peak hours.

He adds that the hope that Uganda will export its surplus power to neighbouring countries under the East African Power Pool arrangement may also not succeed because neighbouring countries might find it cheaper to buy power from Ethiopia which is building the 6,000MW Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

“What is the rationale of investing in more dams at the expense of biodiversity and tourism yet Uganda should be aiming at tapping into other energy sources to diversify the country’s energy mix?”

Kamugisha says Uganda is richly endowed with alternative energy resources such as solar and wind but these resources remain largely unexploited mainly because Uganda is concentrating on hydropower.

He says it is only Ugandans who have the power under Article 1 of the Constitution that can save the Murchison Falls.

“Only the citizens can stop the single biggest challenge facing our country today, the dominance of politics over governance institutions,”he says, “Institutions such as the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), UWA, National Forestry Authority (NFA), ERA and others that are entrusted with the responsibility of conservation and ensuring that developments benefit citizens without destroying the environment have been pushed on the sidelines by selfish and corrupt politicians.”

“The institutions are being used by politicians to destroy the environment; this is why the country is in an environmental mess characterised by loss of forests, wildlife reserves, wetlands, river banks, lake shores and others.”

Kamugisha wants Ugandans to campaign against the destruction of Murchison Falls and all critical biodiversity areas of Uganda.

“We encourage companies like Bonang Power and Energy to desist from being part of destruction. Instead, they should invest in other clean energy sources such as off grid solar.”

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