The Multinational Lakes Edward and Albert Integrated Fisheries and Water Resources Management (LEAF ll) project, which at regional level is coordinated by NELSAP-CU, procured and delivered and officially handed over mobile water quality laboratories to the Government of Uganda on 28th June 2019 at Fort Portal Uganda. The LEAF II Project Coordinator Mr. Godfrey Sengendo handed over the equipments to Government through the Permanent Secretary (PS) Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) Mr. Alfred Okot Okidi and the Director of Directorate of Water Resources Management (MWE) Ms. Florence Grace Adongo. Ms Adongo is also the chair of the Nile Equatorial Lakes Technical Advisory Committee (NELTAC).
At the event, the PS Mr. Okot Okidi appreciated the timely financial support of Global Environment facility (GEF) through the African Development Bank (AfDB) and NELSAP-CU/NBI for smooth coordination towards achieving every planned project results on time and at required quality and standards. He said that the mobile water quality laboratory van will be of great benefit to the 25 districts around Lakes Albert and Lake Edward that it will serve. While addressing journalists at the sidelines of the event, Ms. Florence Grace Adongo elaborated on how the ministry will utilize the mobile water quality laboratory van saying that the van is already equipped, and set with relevant technical personnel trained ready for the water quality assesment activities.
“Firstly, this mobile water quality van is equipped to among other be able to tow a boat into the lake and take samples. The van has fridges that can store samples, which are then delivered to the regional water quality laboratory which is also being constructed through the LEAF II project arrangement. The mobile van can analyze up to 20 different descriptive characteristics of water out in the field and immediately generate results which would then enable the Ministry to make real time decisions. The van will be linked to the national water quality database such that through a mobile phone, results can be immediately transmitted to the office of the head of department in Entebbe,” said Ms Adongo.
The Director further explained that the van will be deployed during flood emergencies. “The mobile water treatment plant available at the ministry can now effectively provide the intended service of treating flood water making it portable to the people affected by floods, as it will take shorter time to have the water samples tested on site by the mobile laboratory,” she added. The mobile water quality van will also be used to assess performance of the LEAF II project as it will be able to provide water quality baseline for future comparison, and then after LEAF II has made some interventions, for example river bank protection, or catchment management. Through it, it will be known if the water quality has improved as a result of interventions. The mobile laboratory is equipped to test for water pollution including that of oil and gas since the Lake Albert Region is an oil and gas exploration zone. “We are so grateful that we have received this mobile laboratory and my staff are very happy, their capacity has been enhanced and in one month I want to see results. The next phase is to furnish the physical laboratory, and this will be done based on the characteristics and problems that the mobile van laboratories will have confirmed out in the field,” Ms. Adongo said. The Permanent Secretary Mr. Alfred Okot Okidi on his part appreciated the support and funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB) Global Environment facility (GEF) and NBI/NELSAP-CU and reaffirmed commitment of his ministry towards effective implementation of LEAF II project. These activities took place as part of the LEAF II National Project Steering Committee (NPSC) meeting held in Fort Portal, Uganda on 24th -28th June 2019.
About the LEAF II Project
The multinational Lakes Edward and Albert Integrated Fisheries and Water Resources Management (LEAF II) project is a trans boundary project shared between the DR Congo and Uganda, with regional coordination by the Nile Equatorial lakes Subsidiary Action Program Coordination Unit (NELSAP-CU).
The project is financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) through a USD 8.75 million grant to DR Congo and USD 7.321 million loan to Uganda, and a USD 8.1 million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the AfDB to the NELSAP-CU. This project is implemented through two core components (i) Fisheries Resources Development and Management, and (ii) Integrated Water Resources Management. It is being implemented at national level by the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock in the DR Congo, and the Ministry of Water and Environment in Uganda, and at regional level by NELSAP-CU.