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From: Ssemakula <james_ssemak...@yahoo.com>
To: "uc...@yahoogroups.com" <uc...@yahoogroups.com>; unaanet
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Cc: Chairman UDII <chair...@ugandansinthediaspora.org>
Sent: Friday, July 22, 2011 4:39 PM
Subject: E. A. Famine Forecast -- due to incompetence and govt neglect.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/07/disaster-east-africa&fsrc=nwl
RECALL:
In Uganda, 18% of the surface area is freshwater in the form of lakes and
rivers. Further, beneath the extensive swamp cover is water -- all those
papyrus plants are floating on water, just a meter below. In addition, Uganda
is also the source of one of the mightiest rivers in the world, the River Nile.
There are also other large rivers, e.g. Achwa, Semliki, Mayanja, Sezzibwa,
Suam, Kabi, Kagera, Kafu, Katonga, Lamia, Victoria Nile, White Nile, Nkusi,
Pager, Ora, Okot etc, and a plethora of minor or mid-size rivers, e.g.
Maya, Namaya, etc etc. Most of the flow all year round, and have done so for
hundreds of years.
The lakes of Uganda are numerous: Nnalubaale (a.k.a Victoria), George, Kyoga,
Mwitanzige (a.k.a. Albert), Wamala, Bunyoni -- a shallow lake in reality but I
will discuss that elsewhere, Katwe, Opeta, Mutanda, Kabaka, Nabugabo, Bugondo,
Kwania (some are branches of L. Kyoga), Bisinia, etc etc.
Clearly, famine in Uganda cannot be due to lack of water or sources of it. btw:
Did I mention the annual floods in Kampala, which turn it into a lake, and what
passes for roads into rivers?
Further, Uganda has a LOT of money. So much that she buys multi-million,
ultra-modern Gulf- Stream Jet for the President every 10 years, at the dop of a
hat - she can afford to pay $740M for jets which cost LESS than $270M (leaving
the balance to float on a river all the way to Rwakitura, she can also afford
over pay and tripple pay for any project in the country -- while our people are
dying of jiggers in plain sight, having been sucked dry of blood!, etc, etc.
In addition, Uganda's officialdom is festooned with all sorts of 'engineers',
doctors, professors, and experts galore.
So, how come Uganda has not dug any irrigation canals to carry water to places
where it is needed? How come no dams have been built to store water? That is,
other than the invisible "Valley Dams"?
Is it because only the poor, the ignorant, the powerless, the useless
biological substances or whatever live there? Or is it because irrigation
technology or knowhow is unknown in Uganda, yet ANCIENT Egyptians practiced it
over 4,000 year ago?
Have yourself a great weekend!
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&East Africa's famine - Disunited in hunger
Fighting famine is complicated by old rivalries and alliances
Jul 21st 2011 | NAIROBI | from the print edition
*
*
FOR the first time since the 1980s, the UN has declared a famine in Africa. An
exceptionally severe drought is the main cause. More than 10m people are
directly affected. The epicentre is in Somalia and Ethiopia—as aid agencies
have made abundantly clear in their funding appeals—but the situation in
neighbouring Eritrea is almost as desperate and politically much more
complicated.
True to form, the Eritrean government is mostly keeping mum on food shortages.
Since winning independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year civil war, the
country has changed from a poster child for liberty to Africa’s most autocratic
and reclusive country. Ethiopian officials claim that almost half of Eritrea’s
5.3m inhabitants are in need of food assistance, though that is likely to be an
exaggeration. The hungriest bits of the country are in the Danakil depression,
where nothing grows and only small numbers of Afar nomads live. It is the
harvest in the highlands that really matters; the Eritrean government insists
that people there have enough food.
See our interactive guideto drought and famine in east Africa
Farming in the highlands depends on water from small dams that local
communities built for themselves as part of an official self-reliance campaign.
Almost alone on the continent, Eritrea turns away foreign aid. That would be
fine if President Isaias Afwerki were benign and competent. Reports of
human-rights abuses are hard to verify, but a stream of Eritreans fleeing the
country bears witness to a thoroughly demoralised people. This month has seen a
series of high-profile defections: football players absconding at an away match
in Tanzania; medical workers seeking refuge in Sudan; naval ratings escaping to
Yemen. Even a senior government propagandist has bolted. The punishment of
family members and the occasional execution of failed escapees may only
accelerate the flow as it makes the granting of asylum abroad more likely.
* A muddy few months ahead
* »Disunited in hunger
* A road to somewhere
* Up the spout
* Laying waste to humble Homs
* Might some stay?
ReprintsRelated topics
* Africa
* Somalia
* United Nations
* East Africa
* Ethiopia
Ethiopia has complained that Eritrea maintains ties with rebel groups in the
region, including Ethiopian secessionists. Together with other neighbours it
has even called for UN sanctions against Eritrea, aimed at the mines. Since
independence, Western engineers working for Australian and Canadian minerals
companies have found gold, copper and zinc worth billions of dollars in
royalties and taxes to Mr Afwerki. Alleged links with the al-Qaeda-like Shabab
militia in Somalia are unproven. But Eritrea’s ties to its south-eastern
neighbour are undeniable—hunger may drive them closer together.
James Ssemakula_______________________________________________
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