The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party has condemned the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) for doing selective wetland evictions in Nanansa.
According to John Kikonyogo, the party spokesperson, NEMA only demolished the properties of the poor citizens at the expense of those that belonged to the rich Ugandans, including some factories and petrol stations that remained untouched.
“NEMA and the NRM government have a serious weakness because they have a lot of showbiz as opposed to what they are supposed to do properly. NEMA was not formed yesterday because it has been there for years. But people constructed houses in wetlands when they were watching; some of them were given certificates, but they did nothing about it,” Kikonyogo said.
“What touches my bad nerve is that they demolished houses for the poor while some rich people were erecting structures in the same areas, including factories that produce wheat in Lubigi,” he added.
Kikonyogo made the remarks while addressing the press at party headquarters in Najjanankumbi on Monday, June 24, 2024.
However, Dr. Barirega Akankwasah, the Executive Director of NEMA, said that the enforcement exercise looks out for any person who has breached or offended the law, adding that some infrastructure in wetlands was established with due process of government approval, and removing them would result in liability to the government.
“The public should not see this as selective enforcement but rather prudence to avoid loss of public funds in avoidable compensations,” Akankwasah said.
According to Kikonyogo, the government can suspend the evictions for one year as it plans to partly compensate some Ugandans who have nowhere to go, just like they have done in Bududa and other areas.
Conversely, Akankwasah said that before evicting encroachers, they are issued with a restoration order in line with Section 133 of the National Environment Act 2019, which gives an encroacher 21 days to leave. He revealed that the same process was followed for the Lubigi operation because orders were issued warning people to leave as far back as February 2016.
“The government will not compensate encroachers, but they instead should compensate the government for the cost of restoration in line with Section 133 of the National Environment Act 2019,” Akankwasah said.
Akankwasah urged those occupying the wetlands to vacate peacefully to avoid the inconvenience that may come along with enforcement operations because the exercise is nationwide.
