MPs want relief aid rain victims
PARLIAMENT – Members of Parliament have appealed to the government for urgent relief support as heavy rains continue to ravage various parts of the country.
During the plenary sitting of Tuesday, 24 September 2024, the House was overwhelmed with pleas from legislators regarding the devastating heavy rains and hailstorms that have swept several villages, leaving many homeless and hungry.
The affected areas include; Kakanju, Bitooma, Kyamuhunga and Nyabubare sub counties in Igara County West, Bushenyi District.
“Some school roofs were blown [off] and crops destroyed and we are seeking relief from the Office of the Prime Minister. In most cases, we table our issues, reports come from the district but the Ministry of Disaster Preparedness seems unprepared,” the area MP, Hon. Gaffa Mbwatekamwa (NRM, Igara County West) said.
The situation is not any different in Bukomansimbi District where the area MP, Hon. Veronica Nanyondo (NUP, Bukomansimbi District Woman Representative) is appalled by the extent of the destruction, especially in the villages of Budda, Kisojjo and Kijjampiki in Kibenge Sub County.
“On 19th September, heavy rains destroyed Kisojjo Primary School and neighbouring areas. We request the Office of the Prime Minister to help this school because it is a UNEB centre for four schools and the PLE [Primary Leaving Examinations] are coming in two months. The Prime Minister should help with a temporary structure for the candidates to sit their exams as we wait for the capitation grant which is also not enough,” Nanyondo said.
Hon. Alex Byarugaba (NRM, Isingiro County South) whose parishes of Nyakarambi, Bugongi and Kihiihi in Nyakitunda Sub County have not been spared by these torrential rains, appealed to government to urgently supply food rations, iron sheets and first-maturing seedlings to the affected people.
In Kashari North Constituency, parishes of Ntura, Ngango, and Kibingo in Kagongi Sub County have equally been ravaged with the area MP, Hon. Basil Bataringaya worried that the Parish Development Model (PDM) may not bear fruits due to the levels of damage.
“The recent rains could affect PDM because those who received the money used it to buy coffee seedlings and these coffee seedlings have been destroyed,” he said.
He called for OPM’s intervention to provide seedlings to the farmers and ensure the restoration of water sources destroyed by the rains.
The Minister of State, Office of the Prime Minister (Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees), Hon. Lillian Aber, confirmed receiving some of the reports from the district disaster management committees and pledged to supply relief items as soon as procurements have been concluded.
On the MPs’ request for seedlings, Aber said the matter will be coordinated with the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries.
Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa chaired the plenary.
