Sh43 billion available for Mt Elgon landslide resettlement, says PM Nabbanja
Nabbanja said the resettlement programme would be implemented in phases, with priority given to households facing the greatest danger, particularly as Uganda prepares for anticipated heavy rains.
Prime Minister Robina Nabbanja scaling a hill as she visits homes in Nabisakala village during a verification exercise. (Photo by Leonard Mukooli)
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Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja has said the government has sh43 billion available to resettle households living in landslide-prone areas of the Mount Elgon sub-region.
Officials are verifying beneficiaries amid concerns over disputed claims, omitted high-risk communities and residents’ reluctance to abandon ancestral land.
Nabbanja said the resettlement programme would be implemented in phases, with priority given to households facing the greatest danger, particularly as Uganda prepares for anticipated heavy rains.
Under the programme, each eligible household will receive a one-off sh18 million package to help it acquire land in a safer location within Bugisu sub-region or elsewhere in Uganda.
“The major aim is to save lives and livelihoods,” the PM said during a press conference in Mbale on Saturday (October 25).
She said the available funds would not be sufficient to relocate all affected households at once, making it necessary to prioritise the most vulnerable.
“We should distribute this money across Bugisu, ensuring that only eligible and most at-risk households benefit from this programme in this phase."
The door-to-door verification exercise, which started on October 21, is intended to establish which households qualify for assistance and ensure that the money reaches the intended beneficiaries. It is also expected to identify vulnerable communities that may have been omitted from earlier assessments.
However, the exercise faces challenges, including disputed claims by people seeking assistance, concerns about the accuracy of previous assessments and mistrust among residents who fear losing their homes, farmland and livelihoods.
Disputed claims
During a field inspection in both Bududa and Namisindwa, the verification team has been able to observe irregularities, errors and omissions made by the previous team.
Nabbanja noted that in Namisindwa, the sub-county of Bumbo Town Council has been cancelled out due to the fact that they are not at most risk. She said the village chairpersons and some leaders influenced on who could be on the list and not, and in some case there had been duplication of beneficiaries.
“There are some people who benefited from the land in Kiryandongo, some in Bulambuli and some in Kween, but they have found their way back onto the list," she added, saying that there are some who are genuine beneficiaries but have also been left out in the mapping.
In Watseketse village, Bumwalukani sub-county in Bududa district, gender state minister Simon Mulongo said the verification team had also encountered several disputed claims as they assessed households eligible for the resettlement package.
According to Mulongo, some people claimed to have previously lived in the affected areas, while others said they had registered for assistance but their names were missing on the beneficiary register.
He said the team inspected 19 houses on the first day and expected to cover about 35 on the second day; however, he alleged that some individuals were making questionable claims and that certain local leaders had resisted efforts by the team to obtain independent information from neighbours.
The team was also examining claims from people who had migrated elsewhere to determine whether they remained eligible for assistance.
Mulongo said officials were cross-checking information with neighbours and other sources before recommending households for payment.
“We are here to save lives and not to save land,” said the minister, explaining that the verification process was intended to identify people genuinely at risk and ensure assistance reached eligible households.
He added that the team would recommend payments only after confirming beneficiaries’ eligibility.
'Some vulnerable villages omitted'
Mulongo also raised concerns that some communities potentially exposed to landslides had not been included in earlier risk assessments.
He said the verification team had encountered settlements on steep slopes that required further investigation, including a nearby hillside whose gradient he estimated to be between 80 and 90 degrees of elevation, yet the presidential directive was that anyone above 32 degrees is resettled.
“Some villages which are clearly vulnerable were never captured."
Mulongo said the team would establish whether the omitted locations faced significant landslide risks and recommend their inclusion in the programme where necessary.
The concerns raise questions about whether all vulnerable households have been identified and whether the ongoing exercise will correct earlier omissions before relocation proceeds.
Mulongo also reported observing cracks on a hillside in Watseketse, which he said reinforced concerns about the safety of residents.
A technical assessment would be needed to establish the extent of the danger and whether the cracks indicate an imminent landslide.
Mistrust
Mulongo said some residents remained reluctant to relocate because of concerns arising from earlier government resettlement efforts.
He said the programme, which dates back to 2010, had experienced difficulties, with some people reportedly identified for relocation but allegedly failing to receive land or money.
These experiences, he said, had contributed to scepticism among residents about the latest initiative.
Some households are also reluctant to abandon ancestral land and fear that the sh18 million packages will not adequately compensate them for their property or enable them to rebuild their livelihoods.
Mulongo said the money was intended to facilitate relocation rather than represent the market value of the land residents would leave behind.
He also said that some people were spreading misinformation by encouraging residents to accept the money without leaving or to reject the package altogether.
The minister urged officials to engage communities and explain the risks of remaining in dangerous areas.
Uncertain future
For residents of Watseketse village in Bududa, the resettlement programme comes against a backdrop of years of soil erosion and landslides that they say have undermined their livelihoods.
Muhamod Namoso, a 76-year-old resident of Watseketse, said the community had endured years of uncertainty as erosion washed away fertile soil, leaving parts of the land covered in rocks and sand.
“We have been suffering for a long time because of the massive erosion and landslides that have been rampant in this area. We have not had a stable life at all,” Namoso said.
He attributed the deterioration partly to population growth and increased pressure on land, saying the area was previously forested and residents had easier access to firewood.
“As the population increased, we had more children, and people began cultivating the land more intensively. Because this is a hilly area, the soil started moving downhill."
Namoso said the loss of fertile soil had made it increasingly difficult for residents to sustain agricultural production.
“At the moment, all the fertile soil is gone. There is little value left in the land; what remains is mainly rocks and sand. When it rains, everything is washed downstream."
His account illustrates the environmental and livelihood challenges facing residents, although the causes and extent of the land degradation require technical assessment.
Relocation package
The government's offer has drawn mixed reactions, with some residents welcoming the opportunity to move to safer locations while others say the package is insufficient to replace their homes, farmland and established livelihoods.
Agasa Buteme, 79, of Nabisakala village in Busirwa sub-county in Bududa, welcomed the assistance, saying it presented an opportunity to relocate to safer ground.
However, Bosco Wanabwa, who said he owned more than two acres of land in the affected area, rejected the offer, arguing that it did not adequately account for the property and livelihood he would be leaving behind.
He said he would consider relocating if the government provided him with a house elsewhere while allowing him to retain access to his farmland.
“But you are giving me sh18 million to vacate forever. No."
Grace Namutosi, a widow and a mother of eight, also expressed reservations about the package, saying she would prefer the government to provide a completed house rather than leave her to acquire land and build one herself.
Antony Mabala, another resident of Watseketse, said he supports the self-resettlement approach but wants the government to increase the package to reflect the needs of farming households.
“We are willing to relocate so that we can live safely, but we ask the government to review the amount and provide more money. Some of us have more than one plot of land on this hill, where we grow food crops,” he said.
He warned that households could struggle to sustain themselves if the package only enabled them to buy land and build a house without leaving sufficient resources to continue farming.
“If we move somewhere else and the money is only enough to buy a plot and build a house, we will struggle as farmers. We are asking the Government to increase the amount so that we can establish ourselves and continue earning a living."
The residents’ concerns highlight the difficulty of balancing the urgent need to move people away from danger with the cost of rebuilding homes and sustaining livelihoods elsewhere.
Homes to be demolished
Nabbanja said households that receive the resettlement package would be required to move to safer locations and would not be permitted to return to the high-risk areas.
She said people will be allowed to demolish their houses voluntarily and move to safer places in two weeks upon receipt of the money, but in case of failure, she added the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), working with security agencies, would demolish the homes of beneficiaries after they received the money.
Residents will, however, be allowed to harvest their crops until December 31, 2026, before leaving the affected areas.
The vacated land will be taken over by UWA for restoration and integration into Mount Elgon National Park.
Minister Mulongo said the programme was also intended to restore environmentally vulnerable areas that had experienced degradation over time.
“This is not just about taking land from people, but saving people’s lives and helping to restore that land,” he said.
The Government has not provided details on how disputes over eligibility, land ownership or the demolition of homes will be resolved.
Government cites land shortage
Nabbanja said the Government had been implementing a resettlement programme for households in landslide-prone areas of Bugisu since 2010.
She said about 1,100 households had been resettled on more than 2,250 acres acquired by the Government in Kiryadongo, Bulambuli and Kween.
However, she said efforts to relocate affected communities had been slowed by difficulties in securing large tracts of land suitable for resettlement. The Government subsequently adopted the cash-based approach, under which eligible households receive sh18 million to purchase land of their choice in safer locations.
The Government has not specified how many households are expected to benefit in the first phase or when subsequent phases will begin. However, at the cost of sh18 million per household, the available sh43 billion could cover approximately 2,388 households if the entire amount were used for direct payments.
Road funding
Beyond relocation, the Minister of State for Bunyoro Affairs in Uganda, Grace Mary Mugasa, acknowledged that the mountainous terrain in Bugisu makes access to essential services difficult, particularly healthcare and emergency transport.
She said some pregnant women and critically ill patients struggled to reach health facilities because of the condition and accessibility of roads in affected communities.
Mugasa said the Government would consider allocating more funding to roads in the sub-region, alongside terraces and other measures intended to improve movement in mountainous areas.
She said some roads were too narrow or difficult for road construction equipment to access, complicating maintenance and the delivery of public services.