David Mukholi and Moses Mugalu
27 December 2008
interview
Kampala — A Dutch company, Collar -IT, a multimillion project with potential of creating 20,000 jobs has hit a snag over environmental concerns David Mukholi and Moses Mugalu interviewed the investor Ronald Scheer , his wife Joan Kelly and environment officials. Below are excerpts
What are trying to invest in?
I used to work for a huge company - Hewlett and Compaq till 2002. I was responsible for setting up ICT in India, where it is a huge business. Thereafter, I started my own company and got ICT projects with MTN. This is when we considered investing in ICT. After research we saw the possibility of having at least a $1b ICT industry here in Uganda. And we think that's achievable by 2020. With investment in ICT you start slowly; simple business and later on get into software development, which is complicated. We planned to start with simple, archiving documents for Europe countries.
How many people do you hope to employ?
We hope to start the first project with 100 people.
Will they be Ugandans?
Yes, all Ugandans who have studied and have an ICT background. Though we don't know how everything will go in the future. At a certain point it will be possible to have 20,000 Ugandans employed both directly and indirectly. That number will be that big when we get Europe to accept software development in Uganda, meaning outsourcing our services.
Are you going to handle European records only?
Yes, it's purely export business. It will go from record handling to software development. This is the first of its kind in Uganda but also in East Africa and Africa. It is a potential possibility here in Uganda. We have got all the experience from India and other places which we want to bring to Uganda. The Dutch government was willing and supported us by granting 450,000 Euros (sh1.2b) to set up this business in Uganda, and our family has already invested 500,000 Euros (sh1.3b).
We got this plot in Kawuku because we thought in future when we go into software development a quiet place where people can be natural and near the water helps the creativity of their minds. After getting Uganda Investment Authority's (UIA) licence, we wanted to be sure there were no encumbrances on the land. We got our lawyer who checked, doubled-checked and double-checked the titles again. It is private mailo land and we got a 99-year lease.
Did UIA help you check the land?
They only advised us. To be more helpful the UIA should be one-stop shop. We got an investment licence from the UIA and they helped us with URA tax issues.
How much did the land cost?
Sh180m.
How big is it?
Half an acre, but it's strange that there are issues about such a small piece of land.
What issues?
After KCC's approval, we signed the contracts with the contractor and architect and construction work commenced. Then, there is land in front of the plot; which is sort of a no-man's land and we wanted to plant grass on it to bar intruders. To do this we had to fill forms at National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) to get approval. NEMA officials came with a lawyer and they didn't have any objections.
Did they approve it?
They didn't give us the approval, but they didn't see any objections to giving it to us.
At the site a NEMA official, Dick Lufafa, was talking to our lawyer and he didn't see any objections.
At the time I was planning to going to Holland for our wedding. During our two-month absence Joseph Ogwal of wetlands visited the site. He asked 'the contractors what they were doing here? And the architect explained. But then he sent us an improvement notice that we should fill up canals in front of the lake. Since we were away we didn't know about the notice.
We got the letter July 2 on our return and we saw what was happening. The contractors were building canals, which we didn't approve because it wasn't in the bill of quantities. We saw also the improvement notice, and then we had a meeting with NEMA officials at the site. The director of monitoring told us consult he didn't stop us at all.
The UIA Executive Director, Maggie Kigozi, sent a letter to the director of NEMA asking him for the way forward and why he had stopped us. The improvement notice was about the construction of the canals which we suspended. But in the end the whole project was stopped.
Were the canals encroaching on the wetland?
Yeah. Partly, but not the building. The canal was dug for access to the lake by the contractor without our permission. We are talking about maybe doing this as next phrase for the project.
What was the canal for?
It was supposed to be a passage for a small boat.
But you had not sought permission for it?
No, we're in the process with NEMA to get approval for that, but while we were away our architect went ahead, pre-empting it. He just ordered his graders to dig the canal. And NEMA shifted from the canals as being a big issue, and then they said: 'Okay, why can't we be sought out by these bazungu?'
What happened after that?
We were informed on July 15 that the contractors had been arrested and taken to Kabalagala Police Station so please come down, which we did because we felt responsible. At that point, I also got arrested and detained for six hours.
Had anybody asked you for money in order to help?
Not directly. But at the police station they indicated we're supposed to have given money to help us yeah as facilitation.
Who said that exactly?
The guy from wetlands who signed the letter, but I understand in Uganda the reason for getting these letters is for purposes of paying off people. But then when we went to Kigozi (UIA) things started to go out of control and the Dutch investment was in jeopardy.
I contacted ICT minister Dr. Ham Mulira, who is a great admirer of the project. I told him 'please help us, what do we do?' He called a meeting with all the parties concerned - KCC, NEMA, Kigozi During this meeting, things were very formal. Mulira said 'okay these people made a mistake because they didn't know they should have had Environment Impact Assessments (EIA)'.
Was it Mulira who suggested the EIA?
It was NEMA people who said: 'Oh! they never did the EIA', but we were never told about it earlier.
So it was at that point that you ordered an EIA
Immediately, the day after that meeting. On July 30 we had the full impact assessment.
What does the impact assessment say?
It says (on page 5) beyond 200 metres from outside the lakeshore. (Reads) The site is located towards the bottom of a gentle slope that adjoins the wetland. Papyrus vegetation extends to 192 metres from the lowest watermark of the lake. The building is, however, on dry land.
There's a problem of the distance from the lake which has been cited in these documents.
Yes, that's correct. But the EIA says we are not within the protected zone, we are 225 metres from the lake so it is a strange thing.
(Wife interrupts) because we didn't have permission, that's what we thought we were dealing with.
Did anybody alert you about the distance when you received the first notice?
No, we were away (Husband interjects) no wait, wait..., the first notice was received when our architect talked to Ogwal and had meetings with KCC. We got emails from him assuring us that everything was fine at that point.
(Wife continues) The email said that the construction of the building was going on, but that there were some issues. One issue was the building was still going on, we thought. Now, NEMA had come back and said 'you disobeyed our command', but we didn't because the construction of the canals had stopped.
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