Speaker tasks govt on disaster warning system

Speaker Anita Among yesterday led the House into a minute of silence in memory of 29 people who perished in deadly floods that ravaged Mbale City on Sunday.

In her communication from the chair, Ms Among directed the Executive arm of government to expedite the implementation of what she called “a reliable disaster warning system” to avoid recurrence of similar disasters. 

The system, the Speaker said, would also enable the relevant government departments to issue timely caution to avert extreme calamities similar to those suffered in the Elgon region. 

More needed to be done

“We also need to scale up on the climate change adaptation and mitigation interventions for sustainable development,” Ms Among said.

The Speaker expressed dismay at the malfunctioning of the said sector expected to issue climate-change measures that would be critical in generating information relevant in saving lives. 

After the Speaker’s comments on the Sunday disaster, lawmakers across the political divide, one by one, stood up to pay homage to the victims and their families, whose property estimated in billions of shillings, were washed away. 

The Mbale Woman MP, Ms Miriam Mukhaye, specifically demanded the Uganda Meteorological Authority to amplify its measures directed towards issuing warnings on related matters. 

A section of lawmakers, particularly those from the affected sub-region (Bugisu), were furious and faulted the government for the slow response in addressing the crisis in their constituencies. 

However, hours after the floods hit the region, Prime Minister Ms Robbinah Nabbanja rushed to the area and pledged to deploy teams to support affected communities in retrieving dead bodies.

Opposition Chief Whip John Baptist Nambeshe accused the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) and police rescue teams of sleeping on job.

The MP said: “The bodies that are being retrieved are courtesy of the efforts of the locals. Even when they were called to help, the ...could not even retrieve a body. So they are lacking in the skill of rescuing. So to say the government has deployed is lacking in the humanitarian aspect.”

Government speaks out

Ms Nabbanja defended the government response and said the government had committed at least Shs5 million to each of the bereaved families to cover burial expenses.

“The government, through the Minister of Disaster Preparedness, has provided relief food to a tune of 50 metric tonnes to Mbale City and Kapchorwa. The food is already there,” Ms Nabbanja said.