Murchison Should Be the Last Resort – Umeme Speaks Out on Controversial Dam Project

Power suppliers Ememe have Thursday joined in on the raging debate about the proposed destruction of Murchison Falls, for the construction of a new power dam.

The controversial idea was thought to be dead and buried in August when Government Spokesperson Ofwono Opondo confirmed that Cabinet had entirely abandoned the plan.

However, late last month, the same cabinet okayed a feasibility study to be done on the possibility building a 360MW power plant at the iconic Murchison Falls.
Bonang Power Energy, a South African firm which initially sought a deal to refurbish the old Owen Falls Dam in Jinja, have expressed interest in Murchison.

Commenting for the first time on the debate, Umeme Board Chairman Patrick Bitature warned government to tread carefully not to disrupt the country’s blossoming Tourism Sector.

“I encourage government to think carefully about what they are doing and not to rush in because we need power,” Bitature told press on Thursday morning.
“I am a Champion of Tourism. I prefer that we promote Tourism in the long run, and this Murchison Falls is such a unique place.”

While government needs to continue to plan ahead for its power sources to deal with the fast growing population, Bitature said Murchison should not be among its immediate considerations.

“Our sentiment is that Murchison Falls should be the last resort,” he said.
He however called on those that are extremely opposed to the project not to stop government from planning, because construction of power dams takes a lot of time and resources .

“Government wants to be strategic so that never again should we be caught off-guard when demand exceeds supply.”

“Karuma has taken us 7years to build; Isimba, 5 years. There is always going to be cost overruns and time overruns where there are delays..”

“So let’s look at other options, but lets also leave the space open for government to do feasibility studies to decide what is the best way forward, rather than being caught off-guard for sentimental reasons.”