Musa Ecweru, the state minister for relief and disaster preparedness has admitted that his ministry is overwhelmed as disasters continue to strike countrywide taking government’s response machinery unawares.
Addressing journalists in Kampala on Tuesday, Ecweru said the climate has become so erratic that it is very hard to know where disaster strikes next and how to respond appropriately.
Todate, disasters occasioned by heavy rains like landslides and floods have hit a number of places particularly in Bugisu, Kigezi, Rwenzori and northern Uganda, affecting thousands of people.
In almost all the cases, government’s response was too little too late. In the case of the floods in Nebbi district, government’s relief aid, mainly food, arrived a week later.
Admitting that the government’s resource purse is small, Ecweru says the government is working closely with auxiliary organizations like Uganda Red Cross, World Vision, UNICEF and World Food Programme to fill in the gaps.
The minister said although the government’s response is not perfect, at least it is trying its level best to ensure that the victims get some assistance.
On the landslides on Elgon and Rwenzori mountains, Ecweru said government plans to relocate some of the people to other places they are yet to find and ensure that those who remain live in relative safety by ensuring best environmental practices like reforestation and terraces.
Meanwhile, a joint taskforce comprising Unicef, the Uganda Red Cross, World Vision and Bulambuli district administration has recommended that two Bulambuli primary schools – Luzzi and Lusha – be closed.
Cathy Ntabadde, the Uganda Red Cross spokesperson, says an assessment on the schools suggest that they have developed cracks and are inhabitable.
Ntabadde says they also fear outbreak of diseases like cholera and dysentery since the latrines have collapsed.
According to Ntabadde, the taskforce has tasked the Bulambuli district authorities to get land elsewhere for the relocation of the schools, all found in Sisi sub-county, the most affected sub-county in the far eastern district.
