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MOROTO: Last month president Museveni issued directive directing all the residents district commissioners, police and UPDF to stop any more cutting down of charcoal and directed that those found dealing in charcoal business be prosecuted.
The presidential directive was after former Aruu County Member of parliament Odonga Otto formed his own military group in Northern Uganda responsible of impounding trucks loaded with charcoal and sometimes beat up drivers resisting their orders.
Odongo Otto was accused by section of security personnel who among them were also dealing in the charcoal business.
However, what saved Otto was president Museveni’s tour to northern Uganda where he held the meeting on Karamoja insecurity and the leaders of Acholi spat venom to the head of state about the rate at which trees were being cut in Acholi land by people from Kampala, Busoga and Bugisu region.
The statement by the Acholi mps convinced the president to believe that within five years from now, there will be no more tress in Acholi and this would affect climate. To stop the activity, president Museveni ordered all security personnel and Rdcs country wide to stop the activity.
However, this website carried out a three day survey in parts of Karamoja region and found out that the only active district in the fight against charcoal burning in the entire Karamoja region was Amudat where by the RDC, DISO, ASTU, Dpc and the Movement office operate as a team to implement presidential directives but other districts, charcoal is still being transported out of Karamoja.
Although Amudat district is on high gear fighting against the charcoal burning, but still charcoal traders are not about to give up, others now use motorcycles transporting bags of charcoal at night and even pay some forces at the check points to allow them cross with charcoal.
The drivers now use a trick of packing bags of charcoal inside the truck and cover up with sand camouflaging as sand and they cross.
Joel Cherop a resident of Girik in Kween district says trucks still move with charcoal despite the presidential directive.
“The charcoal business is a business which is being done by both civilian and security forces also-“he revealed
Other institutions also such as police, schools and prisons have also continued using firewood for cooking yet it’s part of environmental destruction and this puts the presidential orders under test.
Grace Nachap one of the mother who has been surviving on charcoal burning says government should come up with financial support program for the families that have been depending on charcoal burning.
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