350 MILLION SHILLING ARUA VALLEY DAM LIES IDLE

Some children fetching water from the valley dam in Biacici village, Ajia sub-county. File photo URN

By Morish Dramadri

Arua city

The multimillion-shilling Arua District valley dam, established by the Ministry of Water and Environment in Biacici Village, Ayaa Parish, Ajia Sub-County, is lying idle, with little to show for the public investment barely two years after its commissioning on March 7, 2024.

The 350-million-shilling valley dam, with a capacity of 20 million cubic litres of water, was established to address severe water stress among local communities, livestock keepers, and small-scale farmers through irrigation.

However, barely two years since its commissioning, the facility remains largely underutilized, with no significant returns realized from the projects it was intended to support.

A recent observation at the site found the dam largely abandoned, with no security personnel present. Some structures are broken, while the upper pond is overgrown with bush. Only a few animals were seen benefiting from the water facility.

Hon. Jacob Anguajibi, the former Ajia Sub-County Local Council Chairman, admits that the facility is being underutilized. He attributes the situation to a lack of resources to implement the projects initially proposed around the dam.

“Since the establishment of that tank, we have not really achieved so much. We had proposed so many other projects to be undertaken there, but they all require resources. That water is very much underused. That water was intended for production. The biggest challenge that has hindered the implementation of those projects is resources,” Anguajibi said.

Among the key projects proposed around the 20-million-cubic-litre dam are apiary, aquaculture, horticulture, and brick-making, all intended to transform the livelihoods of communities in an area previously hit by severe water crises.

Arua District LCV Chairman, Cosmas Ayikobua, equally attributed the non-functionality of other components of the water project to a capacity gap at the district, while pledging a brighter future for the facility under the new leadership.

“This is an intervention which has been undertaken by the Ministry of Water and Environment. It needed capacity building for the local government to effectively undertake the remaining components. As of now, since this is a new government, we will get back to the drawing board to make these other projects operational,” Ayikobua committed.

With the facility having consumed hundreds of millions of shillings in public funds, questions remain over how quickly the promised projects will be implemented and whether the valley dam will finally deliver the benefits for which it was established.

Written by newsroom-radiopacis