Africa-Press – Uganda. Workers at Lwonga stone quarry in Bujumba Sub-county, Kalangala District, have protested a move by the National Forestry Authority (NFA) to evict them.
One of the workers, Mr Martin Lubega, said NFA and police claim they are trespassing on the quarry site.
“NFA want us to leave the stone quarry, but they are not showing us any documents indicating that they are the rightful owners,” Mr Lubega said yesterday.
Ms Justine Nakasirye, another worker, said evicting them from the site will deprive them of their sole source of livelihood.
“Our kids are going back to school, where do NFA expect us to get fees if we are chased away now,’ she said.
Mr Christopher Ssegawa , who residents claim is the rightful owner of the land, collects Shs150,000 from every truck which loads stones from the quarry.
Efforts to reach Mr Ssegawa were futile by press time.
The district security committee had earlier resolved that NFA, Mr Ssegawa and Bidco Uganda Ltd which manages oil palm plantations in the area, should open boundaries, but NFA never complied and went ahead to claim that the said stone quarry extends into their piece of land.
Mr Rajab Ssemakula, the Kalangala District chairperson, said he will convene a meeting with the parties involved to discuss the matter.
“After that meeting, we will know who the rightful owner is,” he said.
The quarry site sits on six acres of land and the district levies Shs80,000 as tax from each truck.
The NFA spokesperson, Ms Juliet Mubbi, said she is yet to consult her superiors on what to do next.
“I will give you our position after getting concrete information on the matter, please give me some time,” she said by telephone yesterday.
Last year, authorities in Kalangala announced that they were in the process of regulating the stone quarrying business after realising that many players are flouting environmental guidelines and their activities may lead to erosion that may contaminate Lake Victoria.
In some areas like Kasenyi Village, Bugoye Sub-county, residents are blasting stones within the 200 –metre buffer zone.
For one to legally operate a stone quarry, one needs to engage a geologist who carries out a survey of the rock deposit first. However, this has not been done by the majority of the people operating stone quarries in the district.
Currently, there are at least 10 big stone quarries on Buggala, Kalangala’s biggest and main island in villages of Bumangi Bujumba,Buyoga,Kizzi,Kanyogoga,Kasenyi,Bweeya,Buligo,Ssozzi,and Kyabuyima in Mugoye Sub-county, with each employing between 60 to 100 people. Most of the stones and granite excavated from Kalangala are put on trucks and ferried to Masaka and Kampala.
The stone quarrying business that started in early 2020, has gradually grown to employ many islanders, especially those who were affected by the army’s operations on illegal fishing on the lake.
Many young school dropouts have joined the quarries and are shaping slates and breaking stone aggregates for construction.
The stone quarries are managed by individuals who pay an agreed amount of money to the landlords where the quarries are located.
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