Photo credit: Ralph Boer
The Water and environment minister, Ephraim Kamuntu, is calling for increased funding into the water sector so as to increase access and availability of the resource among the communities across the country since it’s a necessity to human lives. Speaking at a national dialogue on fresh water and sustainable development where stakeholders in the water and environment sector have been discussing on how to manage, preserve and sustain the resource, Kamuntu emphasized the strong need and use water has to this nation and its citizens but at the same time he is concerned that the country has less interest in protecting the waters and funding the sector to see to it that all Ugandans access water which has also seen many women and children trek long distances in search for water for domestic and commercial use.
The executive director World Wide Fund (WWF) David Duli cautions government on making better plans for the nation as it continues to register faster urban growth as one of the ways to preserve the natural resources like, wetlands, lakes, springs, rivers, forests among other natural resources if Uganda is to combat issues of climate change which are also contributing to fresh water scarcity in the country.
Meanwhile, the chairman,
National Planning Authority, Dr.
Kisamba Mugerwa concurred with the minister and the
WWF boss on matters of increased funding into the water sector but calls for workable plans that will facilitate faster implementation of programmees designed to preserve the natural resources in the country.
At this meeting the government and development partners are to draw final plans on how to maintain and have better programmes that will ensure that the country’s fresh water bodies are preserved and the environment maintained to combat climate change effects.
