The Ruteete – Kibeba Water Supply and Sanitation project in Bukanga County will serve over 10,000 people from 11 villages in Bukanga and Mbaare Sub Counties.
Catherine Ahimbisibwe, the Acting Commissioner for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees said WFP has so far transported up to 400 metric tonnes of food to the area.
In September last year, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja instructed Kayunga district local government to work closely with her office to conduct a valuation of the land hosting the affected households so as to purchase it.
Some claim that most of their members are illiterate, yet all the money request forms are written in English, and they lack timely guidance from the project supervisors and so they hired local government employees to fill these forms for them at a fee of 50,000 Shillings per form.
Residents were mainly displaced from Ntimba and Kawongo landing sites, as well as villages of Kampatanya and Kyendiko in Galiraya sub county where houses and gardens were submerged. They are currently camping at Bbaale sub county on land belonging to Harriet Namaganda.
Anne Grace Aleper, a resident of Bazzar village in North Division has lauded local leaders for voicing community problems including food insecurity. She explains that this season is disastrous because sunshine destroyed their crops.
Richard Sebandeke, the Napak Chief Administrative Officer, says that the items delivered to the district include, 100 bags of maize, 60 bags of beans, 500 mosquito nets, and 200 tarpaulins.
However, some farmers in Nabilatuk district have abused the project by selling off the animals in order to earn quick money. At least 18 Friesian cows have been sold off since April, according to a report by the monitoring team led by the Nabilatuk Resident District Commissioner Milton Odongo.
For more than four years, the residents have been losing crops and fruits to animals especially elephants straying from the Murchison Park with their numbers increasing every year.
According Patrick Okello Oryema, Nwoya district LCV chairperson, they have tasked the local leaders to document and carry out assessment of the level of destruction to be submitted to the Office of the Prime Minister.
The heifers will benefit widows, widowers, the elderly, Person with Disabilities, orphans and the Ex-combatants from the Sub Counties are Aduku, Inomo, Chawente, Nambieso, Abongomola and Aduku Town Council.
The floods affected 50 villages with an estimated population of 30, 000 people when Rivers Namalu, Amaler and Kocol-kokoi burst their banks causing devastating floods that submerged houses and swept away property.
More than 120,000 people mainly from Karusandara sub-county and Bulembia-Kilembe Division were displaced and their crop gardens washed away when River Nyamwamba burst its banks on Thursday Morning. Additional havoc was caused by overflows from River Nyamughasana, Mubuku, and Lhubiriha.
Simon Peter Igira, a Community worker, says over 1000 people are at the school after their houses were submerged by floods on Saturday night after three rivers burst their banks. He says rain has been pounded the district since last week.
The group who are calling themselves “vulnerable” says government has since sidelined them to benefit from the recently distributed food relief from the Office of the Prime Minister. They say life has never been easy for them since the lock down.
Bosco Twinomujuni, another miner who hails from Kisoro district URN that they are in dire need of food aid because all their families are starving. He revealed that most of them haven’t been able to afford even a meal a day for the past few days.
Betty Aol Ocan, the Leader of the Opposition in parliament who lobbied for the rice, says it is a Christmas gift from government to the beneficiaries through her office.
In September 2018 and March this year, residents of Nkaakwa Parish in Hapuuyo Sub County, Kyegegwa District, were hit by a hailstorm that destroyed houses and several gardens of food crops. Consequently, Asaba was asked to write to the Ministry of Disaster Preparedness under the Office of the Prime Minister – OPM, for relief.
