Museveni inspects Jinja dam, hails engineers

Jinja, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Museveni on Sunday inspected the extent of damage caused by a 16-acre floating island that partly blocked Nalubale Bridge and also moved towards the dam causing a power blackout.

“Concerted efforts from NEMA, UPDF, National Fisheries Research Institute, UNRA, MAAIF and Ministry of Works have enabled us to push the moving island from its risk location to the bay near Jinja pier,” Museveni said after the tour, in which he witnessed excess water from the lake being let into River Nile.

In his address to the nation on the COVID-19 pandemic later in the day, Museveni hailed the engineers for their ingenuity, and said they show Ugandans can solve their own problems. He said the work done reinforces his argument that engineers and scientists should be paid more.

Lake Victoria’s level is right now 13.21 meters, the second highest level since 1964 when it topped 13.41 meters.

Turbines at the three main power plants, of Nalubaale, Kiira and Bujagali clogged on Tuesday night, resulting in a one-hour nationwide power blackout on Tuesday afternoon.

One of the engineers who spoke on condition of anonymity says that the President tasked Ministry of Energy officials to ensure that all our power units are operationalized in the shortest time possible.

Last week, the UPDF Engineering Brigade was tasked to clear the floating island. Brig. Besigye Bekunda, the UPDF Engineering Brigade commander said that island will be cleared in seven days.

Besigye says that the marine officers had been deployed to divert the island to one collection point, easily accessible to the excavators.

According to ESKOM Uganda Limited, the company with a concession to operate and maintain Nalubaale and Kiira Hydro Power stations, the floating Island which originated from Lake Victoria Basin as a result of the current rising water levels created extensive debris and waste material that blocked the water intake screens, through which water for power generation is transported.

*****

URN