Africa-Press – Uganda. Although there have been slight changes over the past few years in Uganda’s climate, the trends have generally remained the same. We still have wet and dry seasons which usually come when expected.
Where things have turned out to be different, predictions made of these differences have been fairly accurate. Sadly the authorities have failed to do two things – prepare adequately for the challenges that come, and make use of the God-given provisions.
The wet season is now upon us. One can expect to start seeing photos, videos and documentation of roads all over the country that have been swept away or eroded, with cars getting stuck, in some cases for days and transportation becoming difficult.
We are also likely to see bridges brought down due to heavy flooding or strong winds, and children, traders and people of such communities having to walk longer distances to get to their daily morning destinations. We are likely to hear about whole communities cut off from trading centres or schools because they cannot cross streams and rivers or even what was plain ground before, because the places have been flooded.
By now, the various ministries and government agencies should have understood these patterns and worked during the dry season to get the transport infrastructure in better shape.
They should have prioritised areas with high traffic that face such transport problems, including key highways and main roads all over the country and focused on ensuring they are ready for the rainy season. They should have worked on main bridges that tend to fall apart when the rains come, to ensure residents do not suffer again. Now that the wet season has begun, we wait to see if these authorities have done this work and how they will respond to cries for help which have been ringing for years now.
And while they are at it, could someone please start thinking of a way to harvest rainwater for use? Even just 30 minutes of rain can produce hundreds of thousands of litres of water for various kinds of use. Instead a lot goes to waste.
The option of requiring all commercial buildings to harvest rain water and use it might ease some of the pressure on the National Water and Sewerage Corporation, and reduce water bills. It really is worth a thought.
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