Locals get Shs17m each to leave landslide-prone areas

Households living in landslide-prone areas in Mt Elgon Sub-region have started getting Shs17m to relocate themselves to either Bunambutye resettlement site in Bulambuli District or other areas of their choice.

During the launch of the exercise at Bubiita Sub-county headquarters in Bududa District last Friday, the Prime Minister, Ms Robinah Nabbanja, disbursed about Shs2.7b to 276 households.

Each beneficiary household received Shs10m from the government on top of Shs7m, which they had earlier received from Give Directly, a non-government organisation, which is partnering with the government to conduct the exercise.

The exercise dubbed as cash transfer strategy, will cover a total of about 4,827 households with Bududa taking a big share of 2,050, Manafwa 900, Namisindwa 500, Sironko 500, Mbale 107, Kapchorwa 133, Bukwo 173, Bulambuli 210 and Kween 254.

Ms Nabbanja said the beneficiaries also receive two acres of land from the government at the Bunambutye resettlement site, where more than 276 households have so far been resettled.

“They will be given a grace period of three months to establish a home in the new site at either Bunambutye or buy land anywhere else,” she said, adding that for those who will buy land, the government will compensate them with Shs10 million.

In 2022, the Cash Transfer Strategy was presented to Cabinet and adopted after the first strategy of building houses proved to be slow and expensive.

The government started the resettlement of landslide victims to 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 and two acres of land for farming.

Ms Nabbanja said the government has so far released Shs11.95b for the relocation that will cover 10 districts of Bugisu and Sebei sub-regions.

“The government also plans to procure more 10,924 Acres of land as soon as possible to enable the resettlement,” she said, adding that for those who refuse to leave  risk areas, they will be moved by force.

Ms Nabbanja revealed that human activity and destruction of the environment are responsible for the disasters.

“The mountain slopes have been left bare due to over cultivation and the search for timber and firewood,” she said.

Ms Alice Nandala, one of the beneficiaries, said she was happy that her family will relocate from their home.
“I lost my relatives in the 2010 disaster and since then, we have been living in fear. I am happy that we are going to move to a safer place,” she said.

Ms Agnes Nandutu, the Woman MP for Bududa District, said the locals are ready to move to safer places.
“My people know the effects of landslides on their lives, crops and livestock. They are ready to move,” she said.

Mr Milton Kamoti, the chairperson of Budud, said the government should create a disaster management fund for local governments. “We should not wait for the disasters to strike,” he said.

Victims
At least 1,000 people have reportedly been killed by landslides in Bugisu Sub-region over the past 10 years. Efforts by the government to resettle the victims have been slow as thousands remain trapped in dangerous high-risk areas in the mountainous districts of Bududa, Namisindwa, Manafwa, Sironko, and Bulambuli.