In his presentation Geoffrey describes the dirty energy situation in Uganda and the immense challenges that communities and the people face in Uganda. Like many other African countries Uganda is short of energy and has been struggling in attaining its energy. Uganda today is primarily dependent on large hydropowers, which have large negative impacts on Ugandan communities and the biodiversity. Furthermore, the ongoing development of biofuel activities in Uganda has lead to deforestation and communities being robbed of their land.

Regarding the oil resources in Uganda, Geoffrey states that there are ongoing conflicts between government and communities: “the government do not listen to the people”. The oil companies contribute to the destruction of Uganda’s fragile ecosystems. To paint the picture even darker, Geoffrey states that the Ugandan government is in the process of developing nuclear powers: “yet we do not have the capacity to address the environmental concerns that comes with nuclear”.

Geoffrey emphasizes the need to put more efforts into mobilizing and to empower the communities, making them independent in terms of their energy sources: “they should be able to have a say in what type of energy they are using - let them have the power to say no”.

To hear more from Geoffrey Nansove Kamese’s presentation on the energy situation in Uganda given at the seminar “Good energy, bad energy – fighting dirty energy and celebrating clean community power”, listen to the recorded presentation above.