MPs moot plan for special disaster budget

As the East African region mourns the death of over 300 people who lost their lives in the flash floods that continue to ravage parts of Kenya and Tanzania, Ugandan, legislators have called on the government to activate standby mechanisms such as the allocation of a special budget for disaster preparedness and the establishment of the disaster commission to avert similar devastation.

During Monday's sitting chaired by Ms Anita Among, legislators expressed fears that similar or even worse floods may cut off parts of the country, questioning the government’s preparedness to respond to such calamities.

Reacting to Speaker Among’s communication in which she sympathized with the bereaved families in Kenya and Tanzania, the Leader of Opposition in Parliament (LoP), Mr Joel Ssenyonyi faulted the government for failing to implement Article 249 (1) of the Constitution, which provides for the establishment of the Disaster Preparedness and Management Commission.

“Bridges are breaking, roads are caving in and it is likely to get worse. However, Article 249 (1) of the constitution provides for the establishment of a Disaster Preparedness and Management Commission, I want to ask the government, where is the commission?” he queried.

Mr Ssenyonyi further questioned the fate of the 10th Parliament's proposal to introduce the Disaster Management Bill meant to streamline national procedures for disaster management and responses.

“In about 2019, the government was mooting an idea to table the Disaster Management Bill, which didn't see the light of the day, maybe we should bring it as a private member's Bill so that it can help us to plan better in case of disasters,” he said.

Ms Among tasked Mr Jackson Kafuuzi (deputy attorney general) to explain to the August House the reasons for the non-existence of the commission as provided for in the Constitution.

Although Mr Kafuuzi asked for a grace period of three weeks to address the matter on the floor, the request received an objection from the Speaker, directing him to report on the matter within a week.

“An assessment needs to be done on the necessity of this commission, I do understand that the framers of the law at the time might have deemed it fit to have this commission but it has not been in place for 29 years and it comes at a time when we are rationalizing agencies,” Mr Kafuuzi said.

However, the state minister for relief, disaster preparedness, and refugees, Ms Lillian Aber decried the meagre funding to her docket, urging Parliament to allocate more funds to tackle the issue of disasters.

“If I am to respond to the issues of disaster in this country, we need a budget, so far I have petitions from over 30 districts and we are not able to do much until we have the capacity in terms of funds to respond,” Ms Aber said.

Against the above background, Ms Among noted that “instead of bundling all the money on one account [under the Office of the Prime Minister], let this Parliament decide that a certain amount of money is meant specifically for disaster preparedness.”

Meanwhile, MPs also called upon the government to embark on a total rehabilitation of transport infrastructure in the country, emphasizing that the recent cracks detected on the Karuma bridge, and recurring collapsing of bridges and culverts along Masaka road depict a rotten transport infrastructure system across the country.

Some of the recent breakdowns of bridges leading to the diversions of traffic flow on respective roads include the breakdown of Katonga Bridge (Masaka Road) in May 2023, the flooding of Kafu Bridge (Hoima Road) in November 2023, the caving-in of Masaka Road near Kyengera last month and the current diversion of all heavy-duty vehicles due to cracked Karuma bridge along Kampala-Gulu road.

What MPs said about the state of transport infrastructures

Mr Luttamaguzi Semakula, MP Nakaseke South

“We also have a bridge on River Mayanja that connects Nakaseke to Mityana that caved in and vehicles are no longer passing there. My prayer is that they also consider the people of Nakaseke.”

Mr Wakayima Musoke, MP Nansana Municipality

“When you look at Masaka Bridge, the new bridge collapsed and left the old one functioning, so we need to go deep and ensure that those who are constructing the bridges are technical enough so that what they do can last for a long time.”

Mr Jonathan Odur, MP Erute County

“There is something that I think the government underlooked when they were constructing the new Karuma power dam. The reasonable suspicion that must be subjected to a study is that the feasibility study of the dam did not take concern of its impact on the bridge because the bridge has deteriorated faster than it was thought.”

Dr Bhoka Didi George, MP Obongi Country

“The people of West Nile are still sitting on a time bomb of the Pakwach Bridge. Every year, this bridge is cut off by floods and as we speak now, there are fears that it will be the same even this year.”