Book Extract - For Blog

Book Extract – for Blog

The Water Trap by Sam Mwaka-karama

THREE

Pre IDP Camp

In the villages then, in the early 1990s, the protected spring wells installed by the NGOs were a new technology in most areas of the deeper rural areas: giving double-assurance for safer water in the villages, was certainly something new, however within that short period before the war displacements that created the IDP Camps - villagers had also spotted a little problem with the new spring wells...

      That is to say, those in the various areas where old repaired and new wells were built, several withered off! So to say.

       As what was enough water to sustain villagers in particular areas as un-protected spring-wells, for years upon years, had suddenly sort of dried down… now really triggering laments and wonderment among the people.

       While in some other areas, the built-up wells began delivering water more effectively only in the rainy season.

       And through those large pipes (normally four-inch diameters) the 24-hour day free flow of water virtually reduced underground water levels much faster.

      Such that, when rain goes the water dwindle was felt immediately.

      Villagers resorted to lamenting that the protection of the spring wells in some areas, actually opened-up the out-flow tracts too large to amount to over-delivery - resulting into wastage of the meager underground water reserves. 

      For the grandfather - grandmother generations, this lamentations were much deeper felt than the younger people would have ever gotten

anywhere near to understanding: Acholi land is vastly by and large, flat grassland.

      With young vegetations and naturally sparse forests composed of mostly non-timber trees.    Acholi land could easily fit with the definition of ‘savannah grassland’ in most areas.

      The Panorama is often breath taking alright; however the valleys and hills aren’t deep or sweeping and or steep… as in undulating.

       So that the geophysical composition as far as natural underground water reservoirs were concerned, it is naturally tricky in some areas… underground water was always meager, though the land is bestowed with so many small

and medium size rivers and score of streams.

      And that was the village experiences with protected spring wells and shallow wells in some areas of Acholi land.

      Where apparently the underground water table wasn’t deep or perhaps potty enough; in such areas the pipes over opened the tracts much too large.

     In certain areas of Kitgum district around Payiira in a place called Agula this situation was at one time complicated by serious absence of natural spring wells.

     And people dug holes in the ground in valley areas that were waterlogged overnight.

     And in the morning villagers drew this water for home consumptions.    

     The complicating thing was the presence of Guinea Worms in the sandy-earth, which throughout the 1970s and 1980s affected villagers in the entire what are now collection of Kitgum districts.

      As a matter of fact, this worm disturbed the Kitgum people for over four decades actually dating back to the 1950s or even there earlier.

      Untill the Jimmy Carter Foundation studied the worm and the peoples living ways, and came-up with the solution in a ten year battle against this water born worms. It was elimination of the ‘vector factor’ that finally did it… and in a way the IDP encampment contributed in breaking that vector cycle completely.

                        .           .           .           .           .

There was once a dream project in Gulu: Commissioned by Amin regime Minister of Lands and Water Recourses and former Inspector General of Police Hon Erenayo Wilson Oryema rip.

      The Tochi River Water Pipeline project was a reality…

      Partially implemented; this is visible on the Gulu – Custom corner – Koch to Anaka road…

       At AworAnga stream. (Also view pictures)

Along this road perhaps a hundred meters down from the Railway Crossing, is the solid concrete pipeline breather valve pillbox…

      And from that point the pipeline is well laid on its way to Tochi River, not quite ten kilometers down the road.

      It wasn’t quite clear as to what was the cause for the abandonment of the dream project.

      But to-date the aborted project remains an irremovable technological proof

that a major water problem in Gulu was considered as eminent…

      By the time I began writing this book, the indefinitely stalled project lay overgrown with wild grass and creepers visible by the road side at AworAnga, about a kilometer down from Custom Corner roundabout.

      What is to me a validation of the writing of this book…

      The one indicator that the need for an additional or outright alternative source of harvest water was long since visualized by alert local government officials, who collaborated with ministry of that time.

      And if the officials and councilors of today (during the seventh and later eight parliament) failed to see this, then they are the ones who might be in the wrong jobs, considering the lack or scarcity of water, even with much rain!

Tochi – the then target alternative source of water is a river that runs west to east then south, crossing Koch Goma – Anaka road, and the tarmac road to Kampala - at Palenga.

      It is possible that this now defunct Tochi River Pipeline Water project could still be revive-able …

      However the entire Tochi river project plan could certainly need

comprehensive revalidation and re-evaluation.

      Certainly it does appear also that, compared to its original setting over thirty years ego, the project site – the river Tochi itself – has also gradually changed today.

      Over the past number of decades since this project was initially conceptualized and partially implemented, Tochi has considerably dwindled. The river right-now isn’t what it was then.

      This new situation gives vent for proper re-study of the river, to re-determine if the project was possibly still viable… 

      It is also otherwise clear that tree planting which has been very aggressively promoted…

      Has seen an enormous lot of highland and valley acreage in various areas growing with Pines, Eucalyptus and other types of hardwood and non-traditional trees.

      Environmentalist frenzied tree-planting phenomenon that really has this very positive echo-system and forestation impact, is also creating this

reduction in upland underground water table levels.

     This in turn causes the reduction on flow of the streams and tracts that feed Tochi… as a result eventually of these acreages of pine and eucalyptus growing…

     The level of the river has tremendously dropped barely two decades after the water pipeline was half-way installed, and the project abandoned altogether.

      This factor certainly has eventually indicated that the dream pipeline project might not be viable anymore…

      In view of the fact that given another decade of significant progress in the district’s forestation tree-planting drive by entrepreneurs – tree planters targeting global warming funds - the level of Tochi might eventually reach dry river bed…

      Well, certainly large bodies of trees will also attract rain fall, but it is doubtful that this rainfall might – in view of climatic cycle changes and the influences of global warming – be adequate enough to out balance the water consumption of the forests thus planted.

      So that Tochi might remain low and minimal, what would more certainly not adequately pressurize the pipeline enough all year round to

fill the reservoirs of Gulu.

      

        And as the Kabedopong raw water dam gets more and more silted, the district might more certainly be headed for a major water scarcity – ‘the water trap’.

        It is therefore otherwise arguable, that if the dream pipeline project must be revived, then another source of water body be identified.

The Acholi land county-side, which is very much grassland, superficially is endowed with hundreds of thousands of water tracts, streams, swampy wetlands and rivers throughout the sub-region.

       However, all this natural environmental endowment is threatened by the search for progress, development and even dreams…

       Apart from the tree planting currently taken-up by a score of the land inhabitants under the much-hyped NEMA and Forestry – Global warming “forestation campaign” now being vastly promoted… (as I write this part of my

book in 2008). There is every indication that, with the much awaited signing of the comprehensive peace agreement between the Government of Uganda and the Josef Kony LRA Rebels, the interests of the entire Acholi people, and those of prospective investors are centered on this land…

      The ‘Garamba peace talks’ dispersed however, with little or no signs of anymore follow-up events… even then with little or no signs of hope from the rebels, world economic trend is also influencing people into larger investments on land.  

      And many already lobbying in the corridors of local power – are brandishing these sophisticated plan portfolios mostly hatched in foreign countries and the Diasporas…      

     Good mechanized seasonal and perennial crop farming, cattle ranching, and breeders… are barely waiting for that ultimate peace indicator – it all sounds so threatening good...

      Lots of knowledgeable men and lots of machinery will (as might) descend upon the land.

      What is pretty much obvious though, is fact that first to go inside of the first ten years after the Government/LRA peace pack – if ever - would be the natural endowments…

      The land’s face will change; vast hectares of woodland, agro perennial crop plantations and modern structures will spread-out.

      Now this means that natural land water sources might within twenty years probably disappear…

      Or very surely carry contaminations refuge, debris, garbage and all manner of dumping.

      The clamor for progress in the Acholi sub-region, after the repressive twenty years of war and displacement, encampment and wringing of hands or burying the dead… would most certainly impact on the natural water environment.

      More so highlighting the actual lack of it, than anything else. All the more, enhancing the need for modernization of the water sector beyond urban town water supply, as we know it today.

As it is obvious in this narrative build-up…  On the broader scale; African urban water supply – if perhaps this ‘Acholi homeland water trap’ – could feature in its analysis coherently throughout, and clarify that, it seem on the far-off side that water engineering in all its varied facets might be the ultimate challenge to African development... 

Here in the great lakes region - what is already happening to Lake Victoria is enough evidence that African water development and management is on the poor and backward side.

      First it was the sudden rapid spread of the creeper water Hyacinth early to mid 1990s, a decade ago – then the current embarrassing sewage, garbage drainage and filth that is contaminating Lake Victoria.

      Highlighting the failure of the ‘water and sewage’ engineering and processing respectively… this could very easily become an indicator for the entire Africa urbanization process, save for South Africa perhaps and the Arab North.

      For example – not very long ago depicting rural development challenges and constrains as the bigger causes for people migrating to towns… was actually once upon a time a worrisome viewpoint.

      However, high-tech, the net and web, internet, cell phones, the lap

tops and tablets and smart phones - have made village life now workable dreams; more and more people now go easily practical in contemplating personal development from the rural perspective… this wasn’t so barely twenty years ago.

       Not only that, agricultural research have also created faster maturing and high yield fruit-trees and other perennial crops that begin to pay-off inside of five years from planting - if well cared for…

It is like - just as people were beginning to worry about village-to-town migration trends – suddenly high technology is making it plausible for individuals to approach rural development with even more hope!

     Because one didn’t have to live in town or big cities to access communication for anything – what remains the problem point is now certainly local government leadership… Africa’s ‘bondage to poverty’ that has this traditional element to it actually in terms of the men who find themselves in the local leadership, seen from the traditional perspective – the retardant of the rural people has always been dominant and anti-progress village-tyrants!

      Those ancient bullies who used to fervently hold the rural people in under development by raucous booing and bulling to effect ‘bondage to poverty’ are no-more…

The village-tyrants stuck-rooted to traditionalism are no more. But they are still represented by another replica…

      Both at central and local government levels and at legislative representative levels as well. These often fit within the characteristics of the ancient Kraal home – village tyrannical men.

      Men who ‘breathe hot air’ and bear-down over everything and everybody – you only realize they were wrong long after things have gone beyond maintenance and repair.

      Fighting and subduing every indication of new progressive ways and methods being introduced.

      The ‘bondage to poverty’ by leadership characteristics that demean all else, is still alive in Africa. The younger generations have it.

       Masquerading as hard campaigning elected local leadership…

       Maneuvering around as those in opposition – the village tyrannical men of the old Africa are all visible in these younger more obnoxious political characters in contemporary leadership - in the ruling party, they are referred to as the ‘rebels within’ the old ‘bondage to poverty’ African leaders are still alive and well in the younger generation... And the parliamentary conducts of the Ugandan legislators reveal it all!

       Projects like the dream water pipeline at Tochi River hatched actually well over thirty five years ago.

      And partially implemented perhaps some twenty years ago is one of many projects - failed by those tyrannical type men.

      As a result - Tochi river pipeline project stalled to now be stranded along the road at AworAnga not far from Gulu’s custom corner - even conspicuous as it is the project haven’t caught the attention of the local representatives:  even as both local and national parliamentarians move along that road and don’t even see the stranded Tochi River project - confirms that ancient tyrannical-characteristics factor.

                        .           .           .           .           .          

     Up till the time I submitted the first edition of this book to the USAID and

later to the President’s Office, in seeking of funds for organizing that proof-reading edition for major editing and printing production - local leaders and legislators in the area had never openly spoken of this particular water project.

     Though some speeches emanating from the (eighth parliament) and Gulu local leaders about ‘Tochi River Project’ eventually materialized much-much later – in discussions there, after ‘The Water Trap’ was out.

      It actually took me a little bit of time to realize that I shouldn’t have approached USAID with my first edition (imperfect) book material. I am not saying this because USAID refused to fund my book – No!

      I have in my life read lots of materials written by ‘deja vu’ characters hating it all... why in the first place they blundered into America at all. Many foreigners naturalized in the US are virtually walking around in circles with scarf-bands tied over their eyes... and mouths stuffed with all manner of the goodies – I think ‘going to America’ is a great concept, but I also think it is a challenge to the individual; why for instance do people who re-migrate back to their own homeland after long-life in America, turn bitterly against the US?; it does seem to me that something often goes all wrong after living in the USA for a while - I have since resolved to try theoretically to help Africans remove that blind-band from over their eyes! It is reason enough for me regretting having ever sought official funding from a US agency – which help was denied me isn’t the issue.

      The dire reality is - my type of book are what the Americans might fight against - because in it there is a Ugandan African writing language they will never like! To them the good African book ‘must’ be loaded not in the sense mine is, but, in a way of being packaged with opposition-ism and, attack on incumbent governments or, misguidedly addressing human rights from the state machinery versus the ordinary wanainchi point of view. To me that is not our literature!

      The Americans want our analysis perennially quagmire-ed in the 1970s and 1980s perspective that created Museveni’s resistance - this time around the Americans want us Ugandans - turning that old garment inside-out and dress ourselves in them... I think that is the real bull-crap! It is for the center for African studies perhaps... me I don’t like that packaging! I can’t blindfold Africans with that sort of fancy crap! We have to visualize our problems from the more realistic point of view – based on the premise that someday, we won’t need foreign aid and grants anymore. That is when local government will become the focal-point of our development everything.

.           .           .           .           .

The wrong traditionalist kraal-home village tyrant mentality – where the elected local representative – also trapped between certain dubious situations; even if they had noticed the defunct project, long before my first edition of this book, would prefer matters to be referred and reported via the political campaign or security human infrastructure. Just like the old African tyrants used to wait for all matters brought up forward from below…

      So that, information on project matters (like Tochi) carried forward would have a political voter weight bearing – where upon the problem might be introduced during a political meeting…

      And matters thus carried forward with a heralding of provider stakeholders, who thus would foot the seminar bills.

      And the project matter thus discussed would as well become a political argument contention-point. Perhaps a challenge point at the incumbent! Needless to emphasize here, Ugandan oppositions for example have traditionally developed this overview that the incumbent President was always the culprit for all blames in his government.

      Here a legislator of the modern-day, would thus, prefer to look at the now politicized ‘project-matter’ from the standpoint of confrontation with the hitherto ‘unconcerned’ government authorities - preliminarily over the FM radio.

      Instead of the more progressive approach of perhaps calling the attention of ‘The Parliamentary Group’ in conjunction with the District Local Councils… over the issue of revival of the Tochi project – the naïve politicians rumble around over the radio – thereby misleading the people to imagine that government was malicing the people... like in “hidden agenda” so that, the failure of the project is ‘blamed’ on central government – actually the President initially.

       I am not in any way suggesting that central government is not to blame - for what often goes all wrong at local government level. And yet again seen very closely, central government has responsibility to a point - the major glitch there is certainly not at policy level, but more at the technocratic and bureaucratic (rotten-wood) corruption-able  levels - the ‘boom-town rats and the scrawny country rats’ – characterized by the satirical short stories as told by the cock and bull political analysts... in the Ugandan tabloids!

      And then the water management corporation or local engineering officers - have African traditionalist hiccups of their own.

       For example the local decision maker official might not hail from the district… so what he does is sit on the whole project till someday he is transferred away.

But then the legacy (of none-action) he leaves behind, continue to ignore the project, as a result another concept of traditionalism stayed the project say by yet another five or ten more years.

      Cumulatively as it would, this sort of mentality offset or cause to be delayed or often binds the matter onto unclear graying annuls of history - and eventually distorts and causes the loss of meaning, in particular areas of progress and development.

       An element of African ‘bondage to poverty’ by educated traditionalism would have deferred a vital program from being either created or accomplished.

       Low cost housing projects for up-country towns for example are not viable at all; in the first place, most councilors might not understand them and so plan and budget arguments in local council meets might turn into madness…

      Not only that - the amount of water supply needed to build one

Hundred housing units are massive, and then amount needed to maintain its occupancy – here; it is direct element of ignorance that deferred a vital program… so that habitat development as an organized municipality program is relegated.

                     

      Given that on the ground environmentally; Africa still seriously lack knowledge and skills development in the water and waste management sector – and that is the base-mark for stimulating growth and development up country; “create the habitat and you will attract local developers” and development participants from neighboring districts, the region and beyond.

        This little book is a serious proof of this unfortunate fact; that as much as the political class generally seem to think that development is personal to the Executive Head of State; a factor that wrongfully mislead the opposition thinking straying towards violence… the actual and real prospects are held at utility services that work!

        Even with the vastly widespread availability of land.

        For another example - the national water and sewage corporation NWSC couldn’t structure a safer and more viable facility for such a small town like Gulu in this age and times…

       Then how would we ever hope to build our small municipality into a city? Village criers have been shouting of prospects for ‘Gulu City’ a long time now - evidently in vain, as they lack the leader cadre-ship! They lack the vision and local government leadership principles!

       Pece River that runs south along the outer rim of Gulu’s east side down to join with Tochi river is sewage contaminated… and very seriously at that.

       All these factors point towards one direction – that yes! Tochi River water pipeline project was valid, called for and even timely. Back then.

      On the other hand - that it failed was certainly regrettable, however also now that the actual project has been rendered non viable - by factors related to impact of tree planting and perhaps also influences of global warming…

      There might be time enough certainly to update the original water source concept plan. But do we have the ability to take-on that challenge?

       Meaning that the need is seriously there more than ever, to revive the defunct project but with a different water source.

       Something more realistically difficult to ascertain.

       Considering all these factual ‘bondages to poverty’ – that are inconsiderate mentalities that bedevils our African societies and communities.

Early morning – women rush for water at - Te-Gwana area…

Unprotected spring well where women converged near Layibi Central

Fencing poles for a fish pond seen at the background – near ACORD at Layibi Central

Line of Jerry Cans at a shallow well bore hole – in Te-Koo Tegwana…

An old cemented spring well near Te-Gwana …

Up near the Labor line in central Gulu town Suturday – washing…

At sunrise young women patiently wait it out in the long cue…

Our African political class is rooted in arguments over democratic theories contrived by practical experiences of the world’s leading first world countries – in ideologies experienced and written by people whose basic communities and societies were driven into development not by political personality, but rather by extreme climatic conditions and harsh environments that more and more destroyed their citizenry…

       Forcing their intellect to contrive ideas that made life bearable to the citizenry – this meant that the intellectuals created habitat that were conducive to guaranteed livelihood and continuity – in return the intellectuals won the (political) right to rule over the people, since the habitat environment they created called for a orderly, controlled  living by the citizenry.

      Most developed world democracies were cultured along that building

“Masonry” kind of principles and mentality!

      Those who built the conducive habitat environment got the democratic right to

rule over that metropolis!

       It is the orderly living – that drove the European intellectuals to develop the ideologies and, these were ideas that placed control over the life-style of the citizenry built and developed by the nobles…

       What our own African political class learnt in the classroom and evidently are failing all the time in correctly applying to our own communities and societies – so that it has become broadly necessary for foreign governments to expedite their arm into our countries here in Africa and create and supervise programs directly administered to our local peoples by their foreign government accredited and deployed NGOs… 

        What amounts to the passage for foreign NGOs to part-take in the planning and implementation of African rural development, and urban slum-dwelling human concern (health, shelter etcetera) developments and contribute to industrialization by, doing what our own political class actually fail to do - like in Gulu’s endemic water scarcity.

        The challenges to the African academic and intellect have never been more vivid! Real and glaring.

         People looking at themselves as well learned are beginning to slowly realize how actually ill equipped the African engineering experts, political legislators and project planners, managers and developers are.

         Projects fail and dilapidate under their very noses with huge piles of up to five/ten-year-old documents stacked (as pending etcetera) on their desks, and strewn right down to the floor of their offices and beyond.

        And young University graduates roam the streets as the jobless or

Hang around foreign NGOs picking a few thousand shillings as gatherers of research data for foreign students obviously researching for their own degrees – it is all so fake!

       Another bondage to African poverty.

       By absolute lack of open mindedness, at the top of every office in various areas of local human need...

      The absolute inability to fully employ the use of the younger generation – local governments adamantly refuse to expand their ancient offices, as a result they maintain the old inadequate office space and indeed its minimal employment – yet by contemporary advancements in all fields of humanity, they should be employing five to ten times the official workers they restrictively maintain...

      And the boys and girls are growing, hardening, and wasting away into un-moldable young people. Five or ten years on the (dole) jobless list are enough to harden the youthful graduate beyond molding.

      As even more and more are dispensed from the Universities annually, the youth are cumulatively more and more stranded.

      Local governments can’t create larger project work environments that can absorb them and still stimulate scores into the informal activities around – to expand Local Government administrative and management human resources and, enlarge the towns by creating larger habitats... LC 5 should for example have three deputies responsible for various areas of administration and that for development projects.

     Where these graduates might get absorbed.

     Yet there is so much emphasis on national quality education! This apparently is spot-on.

      But then these quality educations don’t seem to bear the quality fruits – obviously not because of wrong executive head of state… but simply because the decentralization, now largely in the hands of the younger people themselves, are trapped in the same legacy left by the older now departing generations!

     Okay, by and large the youth now running their districts are the ones who are not creating the projects likely to expand their playing fields.

     And the young are not doing it because it is the ‘norm’ “you don’t re-discover the wheel” - full stop. You follow the norm!

     If an LC 5 chairman and his local government fail to create the conducive environment for their own government’s work seat – then how would they ever get expanded? The administrative head quarters built by colonialism – can’t hold ten times the workforce it was created for, fifty years down the road. The only logical thing is to collapse it and build a plush new multi-storied structure on the site.

To plan for and build the physical capacity [municipality] for reaping even larger revenue… you would certainly begin by expanding your base – then employing enough human recourse to tackle the planning mechanism for structuring the estates development; with ample manpower to handle the district’s expunction projects… and certainly before you even think of estates, you would have water to tussle with.

      In view of this analysis as a means of driving-home the understanding that - yes! Uganda’s decentralization is still a new-born baby of President Museveni! Call it a grandchild!

      It is imperative to enlarge the perspective a little-bit, to create a much larger sound-boarding parameter that pulls in the central government... those in a hurry will always jump to the conclusion; that it is the ministers who are night-dancing paka-cini behind the Ugandans!  But then come to think of it...

       There is a whole body of qualified men and women in the main area of policy implementation, way down below the minister, the technocratic and bureaucratic levels - why blame the top man - by falsely and stubbornly insisting that “the fish begins to rot from the head” when you know very well that, the fleshy part of the fish is what begins to ferment out of water, if not exposed to either tremendous wind or tremendous sun-heat to accelerate the beginning of a drying process.

      Besides, nobody ever climb the tree from the top - to go-up the tree you have to scale it carefully up from the root, the trunk and, eventually you reach the branches and top.

      Uganda’s biggest problem is there! Central government technocracy and the bureaucratic work forces; while everybody attack the president and the cabinet ministers and, other top officials - most things get bogged-down at the middle of policy planning and implementation. The real ‘nibblers’ who fail the country are actually well known, popular and very smart individuals you won’t ever suspect. Because they are also the most likable people you will meet in Uganda!