Bujagali Dam, Uganda / Letters

Kathy Sierra
Vice President for Sustainable Development
The World Bank
1818 H Street NW
Washington, DC 20433

Dear Ms. Sierra:

NGOs highlight urgent concerns on Bujagali in letter to World Bank, as Ugandan government fast-tracks the project

A Feb. 2006 report by an independent hydrologist revealed that over-releases from two dams on the Nile in Uganda are a primary cause of the severe drops in Lake Victoria. In this letter, NGOs are asking the World Bank, which provided funding for of one of these dams, to address the issue and take responsibility for the dam’s flawed design.

To: Editor, Foreign Policy
RE: Response to Mallaby’s "NGOs Fighting Poverty Hurting the Poor"
From: Jim MacNeill

[NOTE: Jim MacNeill was the Chairman of the World Bank’s Inspection Panel from March 1, 1999– December 31, 2001]

Given Foreign Policy’s reputation, I was surprised to see Sebastian Mallaby’s "NGOs: Fighting Poverty, Hurting the Poor" in your October 2004 edition. I am not averse to reading an obviously one–sided polemic; if well done, it can be entertaining. However, the growing role of civil society in international affairs presents us with a novel set of fascinating issues and I would have expected Foreign Policy to provide us with a rigorous fact–based analysis of them. It didn’t, at least not on this occasion.

Sebastian Mallaby
c/o The Washington Post
1150 15th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20071

Dear Mr. Mallaby,

I was quite surprised to see that my very brief phone conversation with you received such prominence in your recent article in Foreign Policy. My recollection of the call differs from yours. I remember that you were vague about identifying yourself and your professional affiliations, were aggressive in your line of questioning, and that I responded with caution. Given International Rivers’s history of helping journalists with stories on Bujagali¹, you can rest assured that had you clearly said "This is Sebastian Mallaby of Foreign Policy (or the Washington Post or the whoever)," I would not have felt it necessary to use as much caution as I did.

On September 27, 2004, the community resettled for the proposed Bujagali Dam submitted the following letter of grievance, signed by thirty–three members of the community.

This letter from NGOs to World Bank President Wolfensohn urges a full and fair assessment of energy options as the Bank and Government of Uganda look for new investors in the stalled project.

Comments on the CDM Project Design Document for the
Bujagali Large Hydro, Uganda

The Bujagali Dam project is ineligible to receive credits under the Kyoto Protocol. Claims to the contrary are likely not only ultimately to rebound unfavorably on any firm making them but also to contribute to the disintegration of the carbon offset market from which many hope to profit.

Comments on the Project Proposal regarding the Bujagali Hydropower Project Submitted by the AES Corporation to Senter Internationaal

1. Introduction

International Rivers Network supports local communities and NGOs around the world working to protect their rivers and watersheds. It has been asked by Ugandan NGOs, including the National Association of Professional Environmentalists, to raise the serious social, environmental, economic and corruption–related problems of the Bujagali hydropower project on the Victoria Nile with international financial institutions.