By; Charles Katabalwa

06th December 2019

Government has allocated 20 billion shillings to areas that have been affected by disasters due to heavy rains that have caused deaths and massive destruction of property including crops, roads and bridges.

The State Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees Musa Ecweru, informed the media in Kampala on Friday that Nine billion shillings will be used to buy relief items, 10 billion to fix affected roads and other transportation needs like buying boats where they are needed and about 200 million to fix meteorology machines affected by the rains.

According to Ecweru, the number of displaced people from Bududa, Sironko, manafwa, Namisidwa and Mbale is about 25,000, affected households are 85,000 and damaged acreage of crop and plantations is 21,500 hectares.

The number displaced in the two sub-regions of Teso and Bukedi stands at 55,000 people with over 120,000 hectares of crop destroyed.

Districts along the banks of river Nile in West Nile sub-region have equally suffered losses of crop and homes flooding.

Ecweru says that while the number seems bigger in Teso and Bukedi sub-regions, the impact has been bigger in Bugisu where about eight deaths have been reported but assessments are still going on.

Ecweru also reiterated government commitment to resettle people in risky areas in the Elgon through the Bulamburi Resettlement project that is being implemented in three phases and will take a total of 7,200 people in 900 houses at its completion in June next year.

Meanwhile, the UPDF Engineering Brigade working with the Construction Unit of Uganda Police Force and the Mechanical Unit of Uganda Prisons Services were tasked to construct 241 housing units and currently more 140 house units have been completed.


Friday 6th December 2019 08:32:09 PM