The inhabitants of Torit County’s Himodonge Payam in Eastern Equatoria State on Wednesday gave conditions to pave the way for the government to construct a dam in their area.
This happened during a stakeholders’ meeting regarding the Kintei Multi-purpose Development Project held at Africa Primary School in Otose Boma.
The project is among many across the country which include hydropower generation, water supply irrigation and food production among others totaling USD 250 million which will last five years and is funded by World Bank.
According to government officials, a large dam of 15 to 20 kilometers with a height of about 42.5 meters and a reservoir capacity of 45Mm3 from Torit needs to be confirmed and optimized by studies and investigations. The plan is to build a hydropower plant with a capacity of 2.9 MW with transmission lines from the dam site to Torit Town.
Gabriel Oburak, a Himodonge Youth leader, said the community was not consulted over the plans to construct the dams and that this led to mixed reactions. He urged the government to carryout awareness campaigns on the impact and importance of the project.
“What will the effect of the dam be and what benefit will it bring to the local communities? When two people come and say they want to build a dam, this is what brought confusion,” he explained. “The survey done in that place did not involve the local people, so, the community’s reaction was to stop the project. However, we have now accepted because you came to consult and hear from us.”
For his part, Osuru Peter, a local youth, said electricity and water might not be their most urgent priorities.
“We, as the ruling generation of this community, needed to know the benefits and impact of this project. You (officials) did not need to come in big numbers but should have sent a small team to explain to us the information,” he said. “We discovered that our benefit is only electricity and water supply. We already have the water. As a community, we are not refusing electricity, however, we do not want such a program. Why initiate the program just because of electricity.”
Meanwhile, Magret Diana Avelino, the leader of the women in Himodong Payam, said they will only accept the project if it is beneficial to the local communities and does not interfere with the flow of the river.
“We still do not understand the project and we will study it and if it is not good and beneficial to us, we shall not accept it so that we do not die here,” she stated. “This river of ours has helped us a lot, if for sure this dam is to be constructed with the river continuing to flow, we do not have a problem. However, if it blocks the flow of the river, we shall not accept this project.”
Gobi Moilinga, the team leader of the delegation from the National Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, apologized for their poor approach regarding the project. He expressed the government’s commitment to conducting awareness and urged the people to embrace the project for their benefit.
“I earlier apologized for the issue of community approach. Constructing a dam does not mean blocking the flow of the river and for sure, when one tells the community that the river will be blocked, the information will go viral like fire. If that was the case, the River Nile would not have reached us in Juba if Owen Falls Dam in Uganda was closed,” he clarified. “When a dam is constructed awareness will be conducted on what is positive and negative. This funding is from the World Bank and you cannot initiate a program that affects people. We need to give chance for assessment because this river cannot be blocked because our people downstream need to benefit from it too.”