By Gilbert Akampa Kakurugu
Kabale
The Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Water and Environment is stranded with compensation debt of over 60 billion shillings to settle 168 cases in courts of law as a result of failing to compensate people whose land was used by the ministry to build water reservoir tanks across the country.
This has been revealed by Isaac Kawonawo, senior sociologist in ministry of water and environment during a press briefing with journalists at white horse inn hotel in Kabale municipality while on his familiarization tour in Kabale district today.
Kawonawo says that compensation and land acquisition are the major challenges affecting the ministry. Kawonawo further notes that as the government they don’t have money for compensation. He revealed that the ministry has on several occasions lost projects due to hard processes of acquiring land forcing kick back of funds to donors.
Kawonawo said the policy recommends a disturbance fee but not compensation fee. He added, that even if the government decides to compensate, it cannot do it fully but instead it rather resorts to giving disturbance fees.
He asserted that the government would now be looking for 8 billion shillings as part of the disturbance fee, but since they are court cases it may require more than 60 billion shillings for Compensation.
Currently in Uganda, the Safety of water is at 68 percent and Kawonawo hopes for it to increase to 90 percent in the next two years.
