Landslide-affected families to receive Shs17m each – govt

A total of 4,000 families living in landslide-prone areas in Bugisu Sub-region are set to receive Shs17 million each to relocate to safer areas. 
The State minister for Relief and Disaster Preparedness, Ms Davinia Esther Anyakun, said the programme will kick off this week in the districts of Bududa, Manafwa, Namisindwa and Sironko. 
“We are sorry for the delays that may have occurred in the process of implementing the cash programme to enable the people to resettle themselves in safer areas but everything has been done including verification,” Ms Anyakun said during the burial of five members of a family in Bulambuli District at the weekend.
The five were killed by a landslide that occurred in Masugu Village, Bulambuli District.  A total of six people perished in the landslide.
Ms Anyakun also said people who have encroached on Mt Elgon National Park will also be compensated. 
“They will not be allowed to go back to that land. This will be government land that the National Forest Authority and Uganda Wildlife Authority will take over to plant trees,” she said.
She delivered Shs30 million from the government to the families that lost their relatives in the landslide. 
The cash transfer programme was launched in August 2022 by Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja in Bududa District. The programme was supposed to kick off in October last year and be completed by March. 
Ms Annet Nandudu, the Bulambuli District chairperson, blamed the deaths of the family on the government’s delay to implement the relocation programme.  
“This family had been considered for resettlement but see the results because of the bureaucracies in government, they are now dead,” she said. 
Mr Robert Kwesiga, the secretary general of Uganda Red Cross, said there is a need for a change of strategy towards managing disasters. 
“As Red Cross, our emphasis will have to be put on early action plans, forecast financing, and early warning systems such that on one hand, we can prevent, and on the other, we can warn people and save them with their properties,” Mr Kwesiga said. 
Mr Mudimi Nyasio Wamakuyu, the Elgon County MP, said the people are ready to be resettled and asked the government to expedite the process.  
Mr Moses Mwayafu, the head of the district disaster committee, said the landslide also displaced more than 100 families, who are currently staying at Masugu Primary School. 
According to Bulambuli District officials, at least 200 households in Buluganya Parish, Bulambuli District, are at risk of being displaced by landslides. 
relocation                       programme
The government started the resettlement of landslide victims in Bulambuli in 2019 from mostly the districts of Bududa, Sironko, Bulambuli, Manafwa and Namisindwa. 
Close to 300 families, comprising more than 5,000 people have so far been resettled and each resettled family gets a house sitting on one acre of land and two acres for farming.