Amolatar: MP calls for research into rising water levels in local lakes
AMOLATAR, August 31, 2026 — Kyoga County North Member of Parliament Geoffrey Ocen Kiring has called on the government to conduct research into the rising water levels in lakes Kyoga and Kwania, which he says are increasingly affecting communities in Amolatar district.
Ocen made the call recently during a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on climate change held at Acii Primary School in Acii Sub-county, Amolatar district.
He told the committee that since 2022, water levels in Lakes Kyoga and Kwania have continued to rise significantly, resulting in widespread flooding of farmland, displacement of families and disruption of access to essential social services, including health centres, schools and markets.
“Amolatar has enormous challenges, and the greatest one is that the land area is getting reduced, not from the effect of rainfall, but because the water levels in Lakes Kyoga and Kwania are rising day and night. Can this committee implore upon government to undertake specific research to find out the cause of the increasing water levels?” Ocen said.
“Because we have families who have settled in some areas for the last 50 years or more, but now their homes are like a lake. So that also needs specific intervention from the government,” he added.
Ocen specifically appealed for urgent government intervention to construct the road through Ocomboli Swamp connecting Acii to Muchora parish.
The road has been submerged by floods, cutting off eight villages with more than 3,000 households from the rest of the district mainland.
Amolatar District Chairperson Morish Ogwal Omara said the magnitude of the flooding challenge was beyond the capacity of the district and required direct intervention from the central government.
Ogwal Omara further asked the committee to follow up on the construction of a dam in Orimai Cell, Amolatar Town Council, where he said the government, through the Ministry of Water and Environment, had invested more than Shs 600 million, but the project remained incomplete.
Amolatar Chief Administrative Officer Rodha Oroma called for special consideration for the district, saying the effects of flooding had created numerous challenges that required strategic government intervention.
Meanwhile, the committee chairperson, Aggrey Bagiire, the Member of Parliament for Bunya West, thanked the Members of Parliament and local leaders for presenting the challenges facing communities in Amolatar as a result of climate change.
Bagiire pledged to present the concerns raised to Parliament for consideration and possible government intervention.
“We’ll stand in and support you. It will make a lot of sense if someone from Bugisu, like me, is talking about an issue in Northern Uganda. So we will commit, as your Members of Parliament from across the country, to take this up seriously, work with your area Members of Parliament, and ensure that something is done,” Bagiire said.
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