During a stakeholders’ meeting at Hotel Africana in Kampala over the weekend, the National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE), presented a draft report which indicated that mining activities at the Dura quarry are prohibited by the law. This is because the quarry is in a national park.

Titled: “Assessment of policy, legal and institutional framework for proposed mining of limestone at Dura quarry, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda,” the report was conducted by Future Dialogues International Consultants.

“There are key legal and policy issues that unless they are satisfactorily addressed, render the proposed mining activity a violation of the legal and policy framework for management of national parks in Uganda,” reads the report.

The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and Hima Cement officials at the meeting declined to make presentations, arguing that debating the issue would be prejudicial.

Early this year, NAPE dragged the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) and UWA to court contesting the award of a mining license to the cement company to mine limestone in Dura quarry.