By Josephine Maseruka

THE Government is to embark on an aggressive tree-planting programme in the degraded mountainous areas to prevent future landslides.

Disaster preparedness state minister Musa Ecweru on Monday said the Government is soliciting assistance from development partners to get tree seedlings to rejuvenate trees on slopes and mountain tops to reduce erosion and soil degradation.

“This is an ambitious plan which we are committed to undertake at whatever cost if we are to avoid further calamities from landslides,” he said.

Ecweru made the remarks at his office in Kampala recently while receiving a sh25m donation from the Madhvani Group of Companies to the victims of the Bududa landslides.

The two cheques for sh15m and sh10m were handed to Ecweru by Enock Nkuruho, the Group’s executive director, who was accompanied by K.P. Eswa, the corporate affairs director.

Nkuruho said Madhvani Group of companies was concerned about the Bududa tragedy and decided to make a contribution.

The minister, illustrating with a map, showed the potentially dangerous areas where people must be re-located from. These areas include mountains Elgon and Rwenzori, areas of Kapchorwa, Sironko and Kigezi.

He said the contribution by the Madhvani Group, which is one of the biggest employers in Uganda, shows that they are not only interested in the local labour but also stand with the public in difficult times.

On criticism that the ministry had not done enough for the Bududa victims, Ecweru stated: “I appreciate some people feel that we have not done enough. We are not there to score credit but to offer services. We accept positive criticism that will propel us to deliver and we are committed to that.”

The minister advised the organisations that are handling the resources contributed by various people to the victims to be transparent in their work.