The opposition in parliament wants government to take responsibility and compensate the families of over 20 school children struck dead by lightning over the last two weeks.
Shadow Attorney General, Abdu Katuntu, today told parliament during an emotional debate that when parents send their children to school, they entrust their safety in the hands of the school authorities. He said compensating such parents would not just be a question of humanitarian responsibility but a legal one as well.
The debate followed yesterday’s lightning strike in Kiryandongo district that left 18 children dead and 36 others injured. Education minister informed parliament that the death toll had jumped to 23 after five more of the injured children succumbed to the effects of the strike.
Katuntu said the inspectorate of schools countrywide is one of the worst performing within the ministry of education. He called for a stern action to be taken against officials who fail to inspect schools to ensure they all have lightning conductors on every school building.
Minister Alupo agreed that according to a 2005 schools’ construction standards policy, all primary schools under the School Facilities Grant were supposed to install lightning conductors. She said the same policy mandated all local governments to ensure compliance and budgeting for their implementation.
But most MPs who spoke testified that none of the schools in their constituencies were built with the facilities.
However, Alupo was hesitant to commit her ministry and government on the compensation of the parents. She said that it was premature for Katuntu to demand compensation since this was a natural calamity, over which government has no control.
But she said government, through the disaster ministry, had dispatched some food to assist the bereaved families in Kiryandongo and would participate in a funeral prayer planned for Thursday.
Today’s Cabinet meeting chaired by prime minister, Amama Mbabazi, focused on the lightning disaster in the country. The meeting mandated the minister for general duties in the prime minister’s office to lead an inter-ministerial committee to come up with a comprehensive report on the on-going lightning strikes.
In Parliament, speaker Rebecca Kadaga directed that the debate on the State of the Nation address be delayed until government brought the comprehensive statement and members debated on it to find a solution.
The MPs were in the meantime all asked to visit their constituencies and carry out on the spot checks of whether their schools have lightning arrestors.
Other areas that have so far been hit by lightning include Amuru, Alebtong, Arua, Zombo, Kamwenge, Jinja, Abim, Mayuge and Gulu among others.
