By Spy Uganda
Thousands of residents in Bundibugyo and Rukungiri districts are grappling with the devastating effects of landslides and floods that have left many homeless, landless, and in dire need of government intervention.
In Bundibugyo, over 5,000 people have been displaced as 17 sub-counties experience sinking landmasses, while in Rukungiri, landslides have claimed the lives of two children and left others hospitalized, raising urgent calls for relief.
Richard Gafabusa (Bwamba County) this week urged the government to send geoscientists to investigate the cause of the recurring landmasses in Bundibugyo. He noted that despite past efforts, residents never received reports from a previous investigation.
“Bundibugyo is home to all kinds of disasters—floods, landslides, mudslides, and now sinking land masses. People are landless and homeless. We need a permanent solution, or the floods in Ntoroko will only worsen since the rainwater originates from Bundibugyo,” Gafabusa warned.
Although the Chief Administrative Officer of Bundibugyo has written several reports to the Office of the Prime Minister, no substantial action has been taken, according to Gafabusa.
Lilian Aber, Minister of State for Relief and Disaster Preparedness, says the establishment of an intergovernmental committee to address the recurrent floods in Bundibugyo, Kasese, and Ntoroko. This week she assured Parliament that relief items would soon reach affected communities.
Meanwhile, in Rukungiri, lawmakers Midius Natukunda (Rukungiri DWR) and Elisa Rutahigwa (Rukungiri Municipality) decried the government’s slow response to the landslides that recently hit the district, killing two children in Kyabahanga and destroying crops in multiple sub-counties.
Natukunda lamented the lack of attention from the Ministry of Relief and Disaster Preparedness, while Rutahigwa called for expedited delivery of relief food and planting materials to address the food shortage caused by crop destruction.
Minister Aber pledged to compensate the families who lost their children and assured Parliament that relief food would be dispatched once reports from the District Disaster Committee were received. She also promised to coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture to provide planting materials like beans and cassava cuttings to help residents make use of the remaining rainy season.
