How long does it take to build a sugar factory?How long does it take to grow a natural and diverse tropical forest?Can a natural forest be re-located, and at what cost (time & money)?How much tax does the Kampala tax pay? Try Shs. 3,356,367,460/- or less than $3M, says www.enteruganda.com/brochures/toptax0506.htm.(should the president hire a fact checker or new Min. of Finance?)Even if it paid $10M is this sufficient to offset the benefits of Shimoni?read on ...Museveni defends MabiraBy Charles Etukuri
President Yoweri Museveni has defended the allocation of Mabira Forest to the Mehta group of companies, saying that he will only change his position if the National Forest Authority (NFA) is able to convince him that the forest should not be allocated.
I have asked the National Forest Authority to show the real unique
reasons why the forest should not be allocated to an investor," he said
yesterday during the official opening of the Uganda Media Centre.
He defended the allocation saying that when NRM came to power in 1986,
the sugar industries had nearly stopped operating and said that the
current sugar cane growth was not meeting the companies' production and
maximum output.
Museveni argued that if the forest was degazzetted more land could be
bought elsewhere and another forest planted saying it was difficult to
relocate the sugar factory.
"I can't relocate Lugazi," he said
He also said that the country would lose out if the current
sugar output was not increased, saying that the other countries in
COMESA were producing more sugar and if Uganda imported sugar, the local
industries within the country would collapse, leading to lose of jobs
and incomes.
Museveni said there was need to transform the country into a modern
state and stressed that if Uganda remained backward, the forest would
disappear.
He said that his main concern in re-allocating land was to transform
land use. Referring to Shimoni Demonstration School as an example, the
President said that the school had been built on huge land which had not
been put to proper use.
"We have Shimoni School on 14 acres but Sheraton Hotel is situated on 7
acres and each year the Government earns $10 million dollars. Of course
the Headmasters house and playgrounds were good but the country needed
money,"
The President said the country needed investos to generate
income to fund Universal Primary Education and Universal Secondary
Education planned for next year.
"I defeated six candidates in an open election so Ugandans have absolute
trust in me I will continue giving land to investors to give money to
us. I have been educating children in Primary and I am now taking them
to Secondary, we need to build new airports, and buildings. This is one
of the ways of getting money," he said.
He denied accusations that only those who had access to him were getting
prime land, maintaining that the majority of the investors had acquired
land through the Uganda Investment Authority. "They only come to me when
the land is under Government use."
Museveni said he was happy that the Kabaka of Buganda Ronald Mutebi had decided to offer his land to investors.
On oil prospecting in parts of Western Uganda, the President said that
the current oil discovery had taken over twenty years and had been
discovered by a team of Ugandans who had been working on the project
since 1989 after returning from courses sponsored by the Government.
"It's not Hardman who discovered the oil but the lot we sent
out on training who came back in 1989"
Oil has been found in three well in Hoima by Hardman Resources an
Australian company. According to its report between 100-300 million
barrels of oil have been established in the limited portion of the block
that has been explored.
Museveni said explorations are going on in other sites stretching from
Nebbi in West Nile to Lake George.
He refuted allegations that his family would benefit from the oil
resources. Museveni explained that government would enter into a product
sharing agreement with the oil companies. And added that the government
would keep a big percentage and the oil companies would be allowed to
take a certain small percentage to allow them recover the operational
costs.
EndsPublished on: Saturday, 2nd September, 2006
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