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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The King of Tooro, Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, has intensified the campaign aimed at protecting River Mpanga and its tributaries from degradation.
On Wednesday, the King commissioned an incinerator and forty trash cans along the river banks to help reduce on the trash that would normally be dumped into the river thereby affecting the quality and quantity of water.
On each spot along the river banks, there is now a set of three trash cans, one for plastics, another for glasses and paper waste, and the other for kitchen refuse.
Anthony Kalyegira, the head of Save River Mpanga Now Campaign explained that this arrangement will help in the quick sorting of garbage.
He added that some of the waste will be burnt from the incinerator that is located in South Division Fort Portal, the other will be used in manure making, while some will be recycled.
The Kingdom Lands Minister, Polly Kateeba, unveiled a team comprising of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces – UPDF, Police, Non-governmental Organizations political and technical leaders, who will be working with the kingdom to ensure the river is protected.
Kateeba called on the people in Tooro to jealously guard the river and its tributaries against any form of degradation, saying that it is a source of water to all the people in the kingdom.
In May, King Oyo officially launched the Save River Mpanga Now campaign where he joined the subjects to clean the river and its tributaries that snake through Fort Portal town.
He also conducted a number of visits to all the counties in the kingdom preaching against the degradation of the river and environment.
River Mpanga in the western part of the country flows from the Rwenzori Mountains and crosses the districts of Kabarole, Kyenjojo, and Kamwenge and then feeds into Lake George.
On Thursday, King Oyo will celebrate his 24th Coronation Anniversary at his Palace in Fort Portal. The event will be celebrated under the theme: “Saving and protecting the environment is Saving Lives”.
As part of activities, the King on Wednesday closed a three-day-long health camp at Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital, where over 400 people have received free medical services.
180 people with eye diseases received free surgeries while people with short-sightedness received free corrective glasses.
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