The government has agreed to pay each household affected by landslides in the Bugisu sub-region Shs18 million to facilitate resettlement, as authorities move to relocate thousands of families living in high-risk areas.
Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja said the remaining households would receive the money with immediate effect and have two weeks to vacate the landslide-prone areas.
According to the figures presented during a meeting with leaders from the sub-region, 1,100 of the 13,684 households earmarked for resettlement have so far moved to safer areas, including Kween, Bulambuli and Kiryandongo districts.
The government wants the remaining families to leave the affected areas to reduce the risk of further loss of life, particularly during the rainy season.
Nabbanja said the latest decision followed a directive issued by President Yoweri Museveni during a Cabinet meeting, in which he called for compensation and the relocation of people living in landslide-prone areas of Bugisu.
“It is high time we compensate these people and ensure they vacate the dangerous areas,” Nabbanja said, urging leaders in the sub-region to work together to support the resettlement exercise.
She said the government had been implementing a resettlement programme for households in landslide-prone areas since 2010, but the continued presence of families in high-risk locations remained a concern.
Nabbanja warned that continued occupation of the affected areas could expose residents to further danger, especially as the rainy season increases the risk of landslides.
The government has also earmarked the vacated land for tourism development under the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). The plan would see areas considered unsafe for settlement turned into a tourism destination, although further details of the proposed development were not provided during the meeting.
Residents have reportedly been given until the end of December to leave the affected areas to allow them to harvest crops from their gardens before relocating.
The resettlement exercise is expected to begin with a verification process in Namisindwa District to establish the eligible beneficiaries and ensure that the Shs18 million payments reach the intended households.
District chairpersons, resident district commissioners, MPs, chief administrative officers and ministers attended the meeting and agreed to support the verification and relocation process.
Nabbanja urged local leaders to mobilise residents and help ensure that the resettlement exercise is completed without unnecessary delays, to prevent further casualties from landslides in the Bugisu sub-region.
