Prime
Bundibugyo seeks Shs10b to fix flood-hit roads, bridges
Locals are left stranded after a bridge was swept away by floods on River Mbule in Ntandi Town Council, Bundibugyo District, on Friday. PHOTO / LONGINO MUHINDO
What you need to know:
- The floods that cut off access to schools and health centres washed away more than 30 bridges on Friday night into Saturday.
Locals from more than six sub-counties in the hilly areas of Bundibugyo District remain stranded after fresh floods and mudslides hit the area last week.
The natural disaster left two people dead.
The floods that cut off access to schools and health centres washed away more than 30 bridges on Friday night into Saturday.
By yesterday, at least two people had been confirmed dead while one was still missing.
The affected bridges are on rivers Nyakighoma, Ntotoro, Ngomekome, Mbule, and Nyabughesera in the sub-counties of Mabere, Ngamba, Ntandi, and Ntotoro.
The Bundibugyo chairperson, Mr Robert Tibakunirwa, said the district is making an assessment on the extent of the destruction and they will submit findings to the central government for intervention this week.
“We call for the government’s urgent attention to handle this emergence,” Mr Tibakunirwa said.
The chairperson of Ngamba Sub-county, Mr Baluku Siriwayo, said some of the traders who were returning from Kikyo Market have not accessed Bundibgyo Town since Friday.
“Some of the traders had to sleep at their relative’s homes because all the access roads and bridges were swept away, cutting off the sub-counties of Ngamba, Mabere and Ntandi town council,” he said. Last month, the district leaders wrote to the Office of the Prime Minister seeking Shs6.8 billion to rehabilitate the road infrastructure that was destroyed by floods in 2019.
With last week’s damage, the leaders now estimate that the cost has risen to more than Shs10 billion.
The chairperson of the district disaster management committee, Mr Francis Senyondo, said under the road fund, the district has only managed to rehabilitate four roads in Mbatya, Kirumya, and Bulyamba, leaving another 24 roads and bridges in a sorry state.
In response, the Prime Minister, Ms Robinah Nabbanja, in her August 9 letter, directed the Minister for Works and Transport to urgently intervene.
Among the washed away roads and bridges that need to be worked on are Hakitara-Busuba (5.5 kilometres), Bundikuyali-Hakitara road (3.6 kilometres), Hakitara-Kanyate road (2.5 kilometres), Bundiwerume-Mbango-Humya road (4 kilometres), Tokwe-Hakitara-Bundimwendi road (6 kilometres), Kinyakende-Ntome road (4 kilometres), Busaru-Bunyakakindo road (3 kilometres), and Harugale-Buhundu road (3 kilometres) .
In 2017, about 17 people died in Bundibugyo after floods and mudslides hit the area.
“Our area is prone to all categories of disaster. We are at a higher risk and that is why we need a mindset change in areas of disaster policy and disaster risk reduction intervention,” said Bughendera County MP Moses Acrobat Kiiza.
The deceased
On Saturday, locals retrieved the body of a 4-year-old girl, Pritha Masika, who died at around 10pm on Friday when floods destroyed their house in Kubango Village, Mabere Sub-County. Residents also recovered the body of a 52-year-old man, Bwambale Munyabasi, from River Mbule in Ntandi Town Council.
