The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A section of Members of Parliament have asked the government to support landslide victims in Sironko district.
On Tuesday, landslides left several people dead while others remain trapped in the rubble.
Reports indicate that River Sironko and River Namwege burst its banks, plunging the sub-counties of Busulani, Masaba, Bugitimmwa, Bumasifwa and Budadiri town council. Also affected are the areas of Buhugu, Busita, Bufupa, Legenya and Bumasobo.
Over 1,000 people are stuck in the villages of Bunegesa, Majasi, Nabugu, Kiyembe, Nabuki, Namakele and Mabale, in Zesui sub county because of bad roads. The floods also washed away all the major bridges and roads in the area, making it hard for people to be evacuated.
Manjiya County MP John Baptist Nambeshe says that 30 houses in different sub-counties had been buried by a landslide due to heavy rains and that to date, several bodies are still trapped.
He says that access to the scene remains difficult because the down pour continues with available bridges washed away.
Nambeshe appealed to government to find a solution to the natural calamities demanding immediate completion of the relocation and resettlement exercise of people to Bulambuli.
Kanungu Woman MP Elizabeth Karungi and Leader of Opposition Betty Aol Ocan equally tasked government on the delays to relocate people in disaster prone areas.
Government Chief Whip Ruth Nankabirwa said that on Monday Cabinet discussed the situation of roads and bridges affected by the heavy rains following a paper presented by the Minister in charge of works.
She however noted that they decided to pick out cases that need rescue since they can no longer reconstruct roads where rains are still pouring.
Deputy Speaker Jacob Oulanyah wondered why the resettlement plan had taken long when the floods and landslides are expected annually.
Oulanyah grilled Nankabirwa for the delays in the Bulambuli house construction but she put up defense saying that some houses had been constructed and people relocated and that the second phase of construction will be expedited.
Parliament observed a minute of silence for those that have lost lives in the landslides.
Government plans to construct 900 houses on 2,800 acres purchased in 2013 in Bulambuli as a resettlement plan for victims of landslides.
In the first phase, 101 houses were constructed and 720 people relocated from the landslide affected districts in Bugisu sub-county. The areas include Bududa, Namisindwa, Manafwa, Sironko and Bulambuli.
In the relocation plan, each household is allocated two bedrooms and two acres of land for agriculture. Each house costs more than 30 million Shillings.
******
URN
