NEMA Defends Ruparelia Group over allegations of dumping soil into Lake Victoria

The National Management Authority has come out to rubbish statements put out by netizens of how an investor Ruparelia Group is encroaching on Lake Victoria.

This was, after a video circulated on social media platforms showing tracks loaded with heaps of soil headed making rounds after pouring onto the shoreline of Lake Victoria around Munyonyo Speke Resort Hotel.

Netizens on social media lashed out at the authority for allowing activities that degrade the environment to take course as they look on.

However, the authority (NEMA) says an inspection team was dispatched to go and assesse the developments and their (Ruparelia Group) compliance to environment standards.

They note that they issued an improvement note to Ruparelia group which are meant to raise the level of the lakeside gardens to prevent flooding as they prepare for the upcoming NAM and G77 meetings

“Based on our inspectors’ assessment, we have issued an improvement notice to guide the developments which are meant to raise the level of the Lakeside gardens to prevent them from flooding in preparation for NAM convention and G77 Meetings.”

“The developer has been guided on ensuring that there is no soil dumped into the lake, no infrastructure development on the lakeshore and to ensure that the lakeshore is revegetated again to protect the ecological integrity of the lake.” NEMA noted in a statement.

The statement issued by Ruparelia Group is as below;

Construction of the one-of-a-kind 4400-seater Speke Resort Convention Centre is on schedule and will be completed in time for the 19th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement to be held in January 2024 in Kampala, Uganda.

The group conducts an on-the-spot media tour of the construction  grounds and provides proof that it is not degrading and or refilling the lake, but instead securing its own land affected by the historic unprecedented rise in Lake Victoria levels in 2021 and 2022.

Kampala, 18th July 2023:-  Construction of the one-of-a-kind 4400-seater Speke Resort Convention Centre is on schedule and will be completed in time for the 19th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to be held in January 2024 in Kampala, Uganda, Ruparelia Group, the project developers have assured stakeholders.

The Ruparelia Group, is in a joint venture with the Uganda Development Corporation (UDC), constructing the state-of-the-art convention centre to not only host the NAM Summit and Followed by G77 China but also boost the country’s Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions (MICE) potential and competitiveness.

UDC is the investing arm of the Government of Uganda whose mission is to establish and or invest in sustainable investments in areas strategic to Uganda’s social and economic transformation, and prosperity of Uganda.

Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia, the Group’s Chairman told the media on a tour of the facility, that everything is on course.

“Ruparelia Group, through our two subsidiaries, Speke Hotels and Meera Investments, is sparing no effort to ensure that we deliver this key strategic national facility on time,” Dr. Sudhir told the media.

In addition to the 4400-seater  auditorium, the convention centre will also have a multipurpose hall, 12 high-end conference/breakaway meeting rooms and a floating restaurant that can host more than 900 guests, with an extraordinary view of Africa’s largest freshwater lake⏤ Lake Victoria.  

The Speke Resort Convention Centre is being developed on a 105-acre luxury resort complex that already has two luxury lake-side resorts⏤ Speke Resort Munyonyo and Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort, also owned by the Group. The three iconic properties combined, bring to Uganda’s hospitality sector about 40 indoor meeting and banqueting facilities of various sizes, with a capacity to host 19,000 people! This is in addition to several other outdoor venues.  Away from meeting venues, the complex boasts 476 accommodation rooms, including 54 presidential suites and 3 ballrooms. 

We are not degrading the lake

As part of the larger preparations, the entire facility is also undergoing some indoor and outdoor refurbishments and upgrades. While on the tour, the Group also took media and stakeholders on an on-the-spot fact-finding tour of the entire facility to clarify some online allegations that the Group is refilling Lake Victoria as part of the construction.

“Being adjacent to Lake Victoria is one of the unique attractions of this facility. It is an asset that we guard jealously,” Dr. Sudhir told the media, adding: “Ahead of the August-December rainy season, we are only upgrading and securing (against flooding) of our grounds that were affected by the May 2022 unprecedented rise in Lake Victoria levels.” 

It should be remembered that a year of extraordinarily heavy rains, that started in April 2019 pushed the lake's water level up to 13.4 metres (44 feet) by May 2022, breaking the previous 1964 record, according to the Lake Victoria Basin Commission. Even though the lake water levels later receded, Uganda’s National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) and the Uganda National Meteorological Authority (UNMA) in May 2023  warned of abnormal rains. Indeed in the same month, there was significant flooding in the Lake Victoria basin, marked but the washing away of the River Katonga bridge on the Kampala-Masaka Road.

Sudhir Ruparelia of Ruparelia Group seated in the middle - Courtesy Photo

“All these occurrences, necessitated us to raise the grounds adjacent to the lake and secure them against any possibility of flooding. This has however been done in liaison and in compliance with all the relevant environmental and municipal regulatory authorities and laws,” said Dr. Ruparelia.