Later exploration placed the ultimate source further to the south, in Burundi, but Uganda is still popularly thought of as the source of the Nile, and a good number of visitors from around the world come to Jinja every year to see it.

When this reporter paid a visit to Jinja, some 80 kilometres from Kampala, capital city of Uganda, he was anticipating all the adventures of Nile. However, he could not dare to say that he got the way that leads to Bujagali Fall as of his expectation. He instead found it dusty and highly damaged. But after a while, he got a priceless compensation for all what he endured to reach the Fall.

Besides the breezy air that you intake upon your arrival of the real adventurous and white fall, the sound of the fall which is as rhythmical as low classic melody has marvellous power to refresh weary mind and muscle.

Nile-Related Tourism

Bujagali Fall is not the only site that Nile slots in and be evidence for its greatness at the region as you can get in the near far where Ugandans and many other deem the true source of Nile. Apart from its controversy whether it is the real source of Nile River or not, undeniably, has gorgeous natural scenes which attract many tourists each year.

Agrippinah Namara, National Program Coordinator, Uganda Nile Discourse Forum, said that Nile-related tourism is boosting up. She mentioned spreading out of lodges and investors across the river. “We have many people who are investing in Nile-related tourism.”

Nile-related tourist sites acquire the lion share of the Uganda tourism sector, which contributes eight percent of Uganda’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is seen as one of the sectors with the most promising growth prospects.

Bread from water---Economic outlook

But the Nile is far more to Uganda than a mere tourist attraction. Fully 98 percent of the country is in the Nile Basin, and the river touches the lives of almost all of the country’s estimated 31 million people.




As a sleepless river, White Nile is not confined to Uganda. It rather flows through large parts of equatorial Africa, which enjoys considerable rainfall distributed the whole year.

As it winds its way north and west from Lake Victoria, the world’s second-largest freshwater lake, roaring through the Murchison Falls before turning north at Lake Albert, White Nile is used for hydropower, transportation, fishing, agriculture and more other activities by providing 15 percent of the water to the Nile.

“Nile is not only water for us (Ugandans) it is also a means of daily bread, directly or indirectly,” says Sara, originally from West Nile region and resident of Kampala.

More than 80 per cent of Uganda's fish for export, second major non-agricultural foreign exchange earner, comes from lakes Victoria, Kyoga, Albert and Edward, with the Nile perch, tilapia and mukene (silver fish) as the largest catch.

Lake Victoria by itself produces over 800,000 tones fish annually. Currently, worth about $590 million of which $340 million is generated at the shore and a further US$ 250 million a year is earned in exports from the Nile perch fishery. The lake fisheries support almost 2 million people with household incomes and meet the annual fish consumption needs of almost 22 million people in East Africa.

In addition, Nile is generating the highest energy consumption of Uganda, a country which is expecting 150,000 barrels per day from the oil deposit that has been discovered recently.

Most of the power in Uganda comes from Jinja, River Nile. Even we export to Rwanda and Kenya,” said Namara. “They are also developing another hydropower site along the River Nile including the one in Kiira. There is a big power dam coming up from this river.”

However, electricity is still one of the most expensive services in Uganda. Most people are not using electricity to cook although their bill shows much amount of money every year.

Paradox of Nile - underutilized but abused river

The Nile River is a massive river in north-western Africa, flowing from south to north. It is also widely regarded as the longest river in the world, measuring 6650 kilometers.

It is also one of the greatest rivers of the world, feeding millions and giving birth to entire civilizations.

Around 370 million people are living in the Nile Bain countries and approximately 200 million in the basin itself. It is estimated that after 20 years around 600 million people will be living in the Nile Basin countries. Presently, nearly all of the 370 million people who live across the basin, directly or indirectly, depend on the Nile to survive.




Covering area of 3.37 million sq, km, Nile Basin comprises about 10 percent of the area of Africa.

On the other hand, Nile is one of the least developed rivers, according to the World Bank. It is only about five percent of the Nile Basin’s resources are being used.

World Bank report states, “less than 10 percent of the population has access to electricity , four of the Basin countries are amongst of the world’s ten poorest and virtually 100 million people live on less than a dollar a day with majority involved in low productive peasant agriculture.”

As part of the Nile basin countries, Nile in Uganda is not also being utilized as it is supposed to be.

“Despite the fact Nile flows through the mid of Uganda, most of Ugandans are dying because of drought and crops failure, and we are still depending on rain-fed agriculture,” Namara claims.

The ongoing hydropower dam development and other related activities however show that Uganda is more interested in the uninterrupted flow of water into Lake Victoria to support its hydropower productions, yet environmentalists are concerned about these hydropower developments.

A study conducted by Nile Basin Research Programme notes that the decreased water level of the river is impacting negatively on the fishery, tourism and water transport industries in the Lake Victoria basin and “may affect basin wide activities negatively in the future.”

As to environmentalists, it is not the provisional economic benefits that help either to the river or Ugandans. Sustainable development can be achieved, they argue, if and only if the river is utilized according to environmental laws including environmental impact assessment, which is considered as a milestone to protect natural resources while investing on them.