Officials from the OPM allocated an acre of land to the families instead of the two which they had earlier been promised. However, the land was taken away from the victims in exchange for 100,000 Shillings each month, despite growing food on the land. Wilson Wanansolo, the chairperson of the resettlement camp says that the land was allocated to Bunambutye Health center which is currently under construction.
The Bunambutye Resettlement camp in Bunambutye Sub County,
Bulambuli district has been hit by a food and water crisis.
The camp was set up by the Office of the Prime Minister for hundreds of
households from the disaster-prone districts of Bududa, Manafwa, Sironko,
Bulambuli, and Namisindwa.
The government has so far resettled about 300 families from
landslide-prone districts within the Bugisu sub-region in 2019 and 2020.
The food scarcity has affected mainly victims who were relocated
to the camp in the first phase of resettlement while the water crisis has hit those
in the second phase.
According to leaders in the camp, there is no water supply forcing
the victims to move long distances in search of water.
Officials from the OPM allocated an acre of land to the families
instead of the two which they had earlier been promised. However, the land was
taken away from the victims in exchange for 100,000 Shillings each month, despite
growing food on the land.
Wilson Wanansolo, the chairperson of the resettlement camp says
that the land was allocated to Bunambutye Health center which is currently
under construction.
According to Wanasolo, the lack of land has left the victims
starving since they don’t have what to eat.
//Cue in “Bali nfee…
Cue out:…Bali leba RDC”//
Wanansolo also says that the camp has lacked water for five months.
He adds that there is a need for an increase in water reservoirs for consistent
and adequate water flow and supply within the camp.
//Cue in: “Chila kulomba…
Cue out:…mu phase two”//
Joseph Wodyoba, one of the victims who were resettled in the
second phase says that victims are struggling to access water within the camp. He
says that hand washing, one of the measures to control the spread of Covid-19
has been abandoned due to water scarcity.
Wodyoba who has 15 children also noted that they last received food in November.
According to Wodyoba, some victims are forced to return to their homes in
search of food.
//Cue in “Nga corona agwile…
Cue out:….bagule bufu kudye”//
Stanley Simuya, another victim says that sent back his children to Bududa
because he lacks what to feed them. Simuya
says that since last year, they have not been given food.
//Cue in: “Phase one nzala…
Cue out:…biliyo kumoni”//
Fabian Wamai, says that after the land was taken away, they were promised to be
compensated with five bags of maize flour and three bags of beans, which has
not been fulfilled.
//Cue in “Gwe kataano…
Cue out:…Banandya buli”//
The Bulambuli Resident District Commissioner, Peter Paks Peke said
that victims whose gardens were destroyed to pave way for construction of the
health center will be compensated.
//Cue in: “We have the list of…
Cue out:…with phase two”//
Julius Mucunguzi, the Senior Communication Officer in the Office of the Prime
Minister says that the government phased out the supply of food since it was
not supposed to be a permanent venture. He
adds that the victims were informed that the food supply would be cut down in
phases to allow self-reliance.
Kirinya Ayubu is the URN Bureau Chief of Elgon/Bukedi Sub Regions . He holds a Bachelors Degree in Mass Communication from Islamic University in Uganda and a Diploma in Computer Science and Information Technology from the same University.
