Government verifies households at risk of landslides in Bugisu

By Ismael Kasooha

NAMISINDWA

The Government has launched a verification exercise to identify households at risk of landslides in Bugisu sub-region. The exercise will be followed by a one-off resettlement package of Shs 18 million per household in landslide-prone areas to facilitate their relocation to a safer area.

The verification, which was launched by the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister in Namisindwa district on Wednesday, is intended to confirm that the beneficiary households are part of the over 13,000 households who were identified and mapped as living in landslide-prone areas.

The Government has since 2010 resettled over 1,000 households on land it acquired in Kiryandongo, Bulambuli and Kween districts. However, the Government has faced the challenge of finding large tracts of land in Bugisu sub-region, prompting a Cabinet resolution in October to provide households in landslide-prone areas with financial support to purchase their own land.

“The beneficiary households are required to use the resettlement package to purchase land in safer locations in Bugisu sub-region or elsewhere in Uganda,” the Premier said. “The land vacated by the beneficiary households will be taken over by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) for integration into Mt. Elgon National Park.”

PM Nabbanja visiting homesteads that are prone to landslides in Namisindwa District

Rt. Hon. Nabbanja also said that the houses of the beneficiary households shall be demolished by UWA in collaboration with other security agencies, upon receiving the resettlement package.

“We encouraged households to vacate landslide-prone areas immediately after receiving the resettlement package,” the Prime Minister added. “However, you will be allowed a grace period until 31 December 2026 to harvest your crops on the vacated land.”

Several political leaders and technical staff, including Hon. Ministers Sam Engola (Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees), Simon Mulongo (Minister of State for Labour, Employment and Industrial Relations), Mary Mugasa (Minister of State for Bunyoro Affairs) and Hon. Esther Anyakun (Minister of State for Karamoja) are participating in the verification exercise.

“We want to ensure that only eligible households get the resettlement package, and we currently have only Shs 43 billion for this exercise,” Rt. Hon. Nabbanja said. “We will implement this initiative in a phased manner. We are prioritising areas most at risk.”

Hon. Engola told the people of Bugisu that the Government is determined to protect people from landslides. “H.E. the President does not want to hear of any more deaths caused by landslides,” he said.

END