Bundibugyo leaders seek UGX 6Bn to fix roads destroyed by floods

Bundibugyo, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Bundibugyo district leaders are seeking 6.8 billion Shillings to reconstruct 24 roads and bridges that have been destroyed by floods.

Bundibugyo district is vulnerable to floods, landslides, and drought among other natural calamities, according to the Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability Profile by the Ministry for Disaster, Preparedness and Refugees. It experienced the worst flooding in recent years.

Many people were displaced, houses were destroyed and lives were lost as water swept through schools, gardens, homesteads, hospitals and places of worship, causing devastation and untold suffering amongst the population there. Nine of the major roads were severely damaged.

However, the district has only managed to rehabilitate four of the damaged roads in the areas of Mbatya, Kirumya and Bulyamba. The District Disaster Management Committee chairperson Francis Ssenyondo told URN that transport has been curtailed and residents can hardly access markets for their produce as well as other services.

Ssenyondo added that the district received only 30 million Shillings under the Uganda Road Fund this quarter which is too little to fix the damaged roads.

Ssenyondo said the district is going to establish community-managed disaster risk reduction committees in every sub-county as a disaster mitigation measure this season. The committees will among others embark on a tree planting campaign along river banks.

The District Engineer Robert Muhindo said that the affected roads need to be worked upon before the rainy season escalates to reduce further destruction. He adds that recent rains washed away drainage structures, blocked drainage systems, washed away gravel material and caused landslides and mudslides.

Bughendera County MP Acrobat Moses Kiiza says that the latest flash flooding destroyed two bridges connecting Mirimbi and Ngite sub counties, leaving the residents on both sides stranded. He added that since the heavy floods in 2019, government has not yet made any interventions.

Kabugho Maryline, a local in Ngite says roads and water supply lines were completely destroyed by flash floods putting their lives at risk. In 2019, floods devastated 12 sub-counties from Bwamba and Bughendara counties and claimed the lives of at least 20 people, washing away several crop gardens, properties and soils from hilltops.

Over 1,152 households were affected. In May 2020, floods killed a UPDF soldier and displaced more than 700 families after River Lamia burst its banks in Busunga sub county.

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