The upper river Nile valley where thrilling adventure activities take place including, white water rafting, quad biking, bungee jumping, horseback riding, cross country cycling and a lot other activities attracting a large number of travelers from all over the world is being threatened by a new proposal to maximum the dam height version for the Isimba power plant.
The Nile Rafting project has been running over 20 years, coupled with wildlife and primates safaris - today tourism is a leading revenue earner for the government
Should this proposal be approved by the Ugandan government the Jinja river Nile water rafting and other adventure activities at the Nil will be dead and a major revenue earner for the country lost and worst of all unemployment to zoo many locals and investors losing their livelihood.
A number of concerned individuals have forwarded a petition signed by over 15,000 people to the Ugandan parliament, which will be presented on Monday, drawing the attention of our leaders to the stark facts surrounding the proposed Isimba Hydro Electric Power Plant.
The Nile adventure is one major reason why publication such as Lonely Planet and National Geographic named destination Uganda as one of Africa’s must visit safari destinations, offering travelers a wide range of tourism activities not to mention the popular gorilla tracking, so many other options exist today for tourist visitors to enjoy a holiday to the Pearl of Africa.
The Speaker of Parliament, the Hon. Rebecca Kadaga, is in fact from the wider Jinja area and knows fully well, what is at stake should the dam go up to the maximum, impacting on the economic performance of Jinja and when she receives the petition on Monday, she will no doubt bear in mind the future of her own constituents. Fodder for thought among the powers that be, more so as additional power generating options have of late been proposed, including a new hydroelectric plant further down the river near the Karuma Falls, which could generate as much as 600 MW and reduce the need for Isimba to be at maximum level.
That said, and as outlined in the petition and attached letter, is the reputation of Uganda at stake as a binding commitment was made by government when securing World Bank finance for the Bujagali plant, that this section of the river, together with the Mabira Forest, will be kept intact as offset measures to mitigate the negative impact of Bujagali, which has become only too apparent in recent times too.
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