Hajj Abdu Nadduli, the Minister without Portfolio in-Charge of Political Mobilization has tasked families in Amuru who sold part of their forested land to commercial dealers to refund the cash they have received from the charcoal dealers.
“Leaders in Amuru should ensure that all those will be affected by a decision by the [Amuru] District Council should receive back their money which they paid out to individuals,”
Amuru district council resolved on the August 2 that by September 1, all commercial charcoal dealers should vacate. The council immediately suspended commercial charcoal business.
Minister Nadduli was on Wednesday addressing residents of Amuru at Pabbo Sub County headquarters.
The minister said it will be unfair for those who have invested large sums of money in charcoal business not to recover their cash.
“Cutting trees is not a new phenomenon in the country but I pray that now that they are being ordered out this (Amuru) place, I would like to see that the money sunk in the forest business by those involved are paid back by the community who received it,” Nadduli said.
Since 2011, charcoal dealers have bought hundreds of acres of forested land for commercial charcoal business from Amuru locals. An acre of forested land is sold at 100,000 and 1.5 million shillings.
Early this year, over 1,200 mostly non locals involved in commercial business fled Amuru after their camp was attacked by locals on suspicion that they had murdered a local Boda- Boda (police in Amuru suspect the Boda- Boda, a motorcycle taxi rider, is a live).
The Amuru District LCV Vice Chairman, John Bosco Ocan, said at the meeting that commercial charcoal business are directed to leave by September 1.
Ocan said that the district had already notified the Ministry of Water and Environment about the district directive in writing.
Under their umbrella, Uganda Charcoal Dealers Association, charcoal business operators said during the Wednesday meeting that the time given for them to leave is not adequate and asked for more time.
The secretary of the charcoal dealers, Abed Said Lumu, said if they are pused out of Amuru, they will lose 20 billion shilling.
Lumu explained they [charcoal dealers] had bought large pieces of forested land to turn it into charcoal adding that the Amuru resolution will be disastrous for their business.
6 Comments
Mr. Nadduli must be kidding. He is quite aware that the charcoal industry is detrimental to the Acholi environment and most importantly that the alleged deal was reached without any consultations with the locals. In the event of any legal process, the individuals responsible should be called to account.
They are destroyers of environment so why should the poor, ex-concentration camp dwellers pay them any money. These charcoal dealers pay peanuts and rip 100 times what they pay for. It will encourage other charcoal dealers to keep trying the deal as long as there is so called compensation at the background.
The environment is for all citizens including neighbouring countries therefore it is the responsibility of ALL people to protect it where-ever you are regardless of tribe.
The government should find other means to refund only those that have not made any money at all since they paid for the deal. Other than that the charcoal dealers should face the law and pay costs for destruction of the environments as they push for their “compensations.” What they have done costs trillions of loss to the environment and future generations. The environmentalists should write these costs down vs compensations.
DO NOT compensate them! Let them take the matters to court. Commercial Charcoal making from the natural grown forest should be stopped and outlaw in the districts of Uganda.
If, we are to protect our environment, Leaders in Acholiland should push for commercial tree growing, where by the Commercial Charcoal dealers and Commercial Charcoal making activity can and should come from.
Uganda charcoal dealers association, rather than brewing over what they have lost they should acknowledge that their business practices is unsustainable because it encouraging environmental degradation.
And these are the type of idiots that have always flourish in Museveni’s govt. What does this minister even understand about the concept of protecting our environment. Let him go to Luwero and promote charcoal dealing there, we don’t tolerate stupidness here.
The Ministry of Water and Environment should Support Amuru District through Enviromental Community Projects in the Village.To promote tree planting,it will change the lives of those Families Resettling back on their Land after the 20 years of suffering in the IDP Camps.
Commercial Charcoal dealers are in a Joint Security Instability in Acholi Region why are they armed with AK46 to rob poor village people and rape Virgin Young Girls?
If they dont respect on what the Amuru District Council has resolved that on 1 September they must leave Amuru Tree Distruction,then they will see what the Monkey saw that Day in the Garden of Peace(Gibenongo gin ma Ayom oneno i ipoto Ngor).
Let us follow Rwot Achana’s II Qoute in Acholi Times of 17 January 2016.
“Forest is part of heritage of the Acholi as a Tribe and urged the Population to rise against those distroying them”
The Acholi Paramont Chief,
Rwot David Achana II,17/1/2016.