The Minister of energy, Irene Muloni has said that no activity will be carried out on Murchison falls until a feasibility study is undertaken to determine the fate of the proposed construction of a hydropower Falls.
The dam will not be constructed at Murchison Falls but rather adjacent to it at Uhuru Falls which a distance of 500 metres apart.
“Uhuru Falls and Murchison Falls are separate falls that are adjacent to each other. Our focus is on Uhuru site,” Muloni said.
She told journalists that the South African company is set to carry out a feasibility study that will determine the fate of Murchison Falls.
“In order to make a scientifically informed decision, Cabinet reviewed its decision on December 2, 2019 and agreed that a feasibility study is undertaken on the Uhuru falls site,” she said
She noted that in making the informed decision, Cabinet considered the need to have the feasibility study undertaken because that is the only scientific way to determine the impact of the project on the environment, tourism and ecology at the Proposed site.
” The feasibility study will help determine the technical, environmental, social, economic and financial viability of the project and whether to undertake it or not,” she said.
She said government will ensure thorough supervision of the feasibility study so that its interests are taken into consideration including benchmarking where similar projects have been previously undertaken in ecologically sensitive areas.
The minister of Tourism Prof.Ephraim Kamuntu said that government is committed to ensuring Uganda’s natural endowment remains.
“I want to assure you that conservation of the environment and natural endowment is not a choice for anyone but a duty for everyone. You should never doubt the commitment of government in the conservation of natural endowment,” Kamuntu said.
He said the feasibility study will be the only way to determine whether the natural endowment at Murchison Falls will be tampered with or not after construction of the hydropower dam.
“If the study tells us that we can maintain the natural beauty after the construction of the hydropower project, then we can go on with it.”