By Carolyne Nakazibwe
September 10, 2003-Monitor
|
KAMPALA -- Government is relocating Sudanese refugees from Kiryandongo camp in Masindi to West Nile, to make room for a group of white Zimbabwean farmers, The Monitor has learnt. Sources told The Monitor that plans are in advanced stages to help Zimbabwean farmers start a new life in Uganda. The white farmers in Zimbabwe have lost land in the wake of President Robert Mugabe's land redistribution programme. The Minister of State for Planning, Mr Isaac Musumba, could not confirm whether the Kiryandongo area would be given to the Zimbabweans. He, however, said that the government is considering resettling some of the farmers in Bunyoro. "All I know is that Masindi was mentioned," he said. Government used police to force the rioting 17,400 Sudanese from the Kiryandongo transit camp to West Nile. Musumba said in a phone interview yesterday that all government land has been given to the Uganda Investment Authority to boost investment. He said that there are many Zimbabwean farmers interested in Uganda. He has already talked to about twenty of them. "But they wanted more than land. They wanted agricultural finance. You see agriculture in other countries enjoys a different kind of interest, so they wanted government to help them retire their loans in Zimbabwe and move them to Uganda and see how we start," Musumba said. He said that the new demands from the farmers are delaying their resettlement here. The government needs at least $3 million (Shs 6 billion) for a start. "And there are Indian and Ugandan investors who requested similar incentives, so would it be fair to give the money to the Zimbabwean farmers?" asked Musumba. However, the First Deputy Premier and Minister for Disaster Preparedness, Lt. Gen. Moses Ali, denied reports that refugees are being moved to make room for the farmers. He said that Kiryandongo will remain a refugee camp. "Those are just rumour mongers. The place was a refugee camp before the Sudanese were moved there from Acholi pi. The people they found there will stay," Moses Ali said on Monday. The acting representative for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Mr Magluff J. M. Castro said that he is not aware of any plans to resettle Zimbabweans at Kiryandongo. Musumba however said that having Zimbabweans here will boost the export network, improve access to markets and crop quality as well as boost the outgrowers' incomes. The Director, Land Development Division at the Uganda Investment Authority, Mr Patrick Nyaika, said that no areas would be gazetted for a group of Zimbabwean farmers. He said that the land would be leased depending on the farmers' proposals. Nyaika said that the UIA had received submissions from the farmers. He said that he had no idea that Kiryandongo refugee camp is being considered as a possible home for the Zimbabweans. He however explained that the government allowed the authority to lease out land to investors. "Seventy percent of Uganda's land is not utilised for agriculture yet it is suitable," Nyaika said yesterday. He said that no investment project would displace citizens in favour of Zimbabwean farmers. |
© 2003 The Monitor Publications
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software
