News Analysis By Leo Odera Omolo

Two ODM MPs from the South Rift have asked the Prime Minister Raila Odinga to disband the Mau Forest task force.

The legislator wants the PM to appoint an independent commission to scrutinize the intended evictions of the Mau Forest Complex

The two Mps,Zakayo Cheruiyot (Kuresoi) and Isaac Ruto (Chepalungu) said last weekend that they had no confidence in the taskforce which was recently appointed by Mr.Odinga since its members were mainly civil servants.

At least 100,000 people are expected to be evicted from the forest a head of its planned rehabilitation.

The legislators said the task force was unlikely to come out with any useful recommendations since “their appointing authority has already declared that evictions must be carried out in Mau”

The mps said they were not opposed to the relocations of Mau squatters, but called for awareness from government that those evicted would be given alternative settlement area.

They also appealed for settlers with title deeds to be compensated “Kenya has a tradition of respecting title deeds including those issued many years ago by the British colonialists government and the Mau Forest complex case should not be exception, :said Isaac Ruto

The MP said the Mau farmers should not be evicted until all due process were followed and they were consulted on the impending evictions exercise.

The destruction of Mau Forest threatens livelihoods of millions of people who depend on the rivers which originate from there.

Many of those rivers have dried up reducing the amount of waters that flowed into Lake Victoria. The impact of the forest destruction threatens millions of people who depend on the Nile River waters.

Meanwhile Tanzania has clarified that it will not interfere in nay bilateral agreement entered into by Uganda and another country on the waters of River Nile,as long as it was notified of such agreement.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Water and Irrigation Patrick Rutahanzibwa was quoted at the weekend by Newspaper reports as saying this barely a week after it was widely reported but Tanzania was furious with Uganda over the alleged secret pact it had entered into with Egypt.

The Ps said in a statement issued in Dar “the Tanzania government recognizes Uganda’s right to engage in bilateral discussions with other countries regarding any matter of interest to Uganda.

The statement further added “it is our expectation that any issues arising from bilateral discussions that one relevant to our interests will be communicated through the channels of communication that have been established within the existing cooperative organs such as the Nile Basin Initiative of the East African Community (EAC)

It had been suggested in media reports that the Tanzania government was opposed to bilateral discussions on matters relating to the Nile Basin’s water resources “that have been reportedly held between Uganda and Egypt”

Almost a fortnight ago it was reported that Tanzania was angry over an agreement entered into by Uganda and Egypt after President Hosni Mubarak made unscheduled stop over in Uganda.

It was intimated in the report that Tanzania officials believe that Uganda and Egypt made an exclusive bilateral deal during a recent visit Egyptian President.

President Mubarak made a brief stopover in Kampala on his way home from South Africa where he had gone to lobby or solicit support for Sudanese President Omar El Bashir against indictment by the indictment by the UN prosecutor over war crimes.

But PS Rutahanzibwa further said that negotiations fro new agreement on co-operation among Nile Basin countries including Tanzania were at an advanced stage.

He said the negotiations started as part of the consultative process early this year an dthat the Tanzanian Minister for Water and Irrigation Prof Monk Mwandosya recently met his Ugandan counterpart, maria Mutagamba in Dar Es Salaam.

According to the Ps Mutagamba had led adelegation which included among others Andace Mudagizaye, the then excecutive director of the Nile Basin and Sortie bank among the director of Uganda Development Department

Ends

leooderaomolo@yahoo.com

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Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2008 03:36:58 -0700 (PDT)
From: Leo Odera Omolo
Subject: TANZANIA NOW SAYS UGANDA IS FREE TO ENTER NILE WATER AGREEMENTS AS KALENJIN MPs DISOWN RAILA TASK FORCE ON MAU FOREST.