?The civic leaders, conservationists and environmentalists who grumbled about the waste having metallic and liquid ingredients that would harm humans, flora and fauna can relax,? said the Resident National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) executive director Dr. Tom Okurut.
?With such a modern waste management park even neighboring countries could benefit.?
Adding that following the Nile Delta experience, Uganda cannot afford to, take any chances with the lives of it?s citizens.
?That is why the ?kavera? ban that has already been implemented in Kampala City is going to spread to the rest of the country.?
The ENVIRONSERV chief executive officer Des Gordon CEO Corporate Services revealed that the facility has cost $20,000 to set up on 100 acres of land in Nabusoga village.
?We started humbly in South Africa. But we have stretched handling waste for more than 30 years across Africa,? revealed Gordon. ?Our expertise extends to Maputo, Rwanda and now Uganda.?
Adding that, as Africa emerges as an economic giant they are proud to be associated with it.
The drilling of 2.5 billion barrels of oil has made this Albertine Graben, which is a highly ecologically sensitive region and home to unique fauna and flora species the focus of many. The waste will be handled, in the proximity of Lake George, for 20 years.
The connecting road from Hoima is as smooth as a runway with mud and wattle houses sitting astride it. Subsistence farming remains the main economic activity. Pupils still walk their way to school barefooted.
?Hazard-ass? one battles to read inscriptions on a track passing by. ?Worst? (waste) he finishes his reading challenge.
Already 36 residents have been recruited in the waste management plant but children like these stand a low chance of benefiting from these oil job opportunities as the dropout rate is still alarming.
By Titus Kakembo, The New Vision
