Over 100 Rwandese pastoralists stranded in Rakai
OVER 100 pastoralists expelled from Tanzania with 70,000 head of cattle are stranded at Kasanvu village in Kakuuto sub-county, Rakai district.
By Dismus Buregyeya
OVER 100 pastoralists expelled from Tanzania with 70,000 head of cattle are stranded at Kasanvu village in Kakuuto sub-county, Rakai district.
The pastoralists, who are mainly Rwandans, do not have access to medical facilities and shelter.
They told the members of the parliamentary natural resources committee led by the state minister for primary education, Peter Lokeris, that the Government should help them settle in Rakai.
The MPs were touring the border region on Monday to find ways in which the communities can peacefully co-exist.
They also want to draft regional pastoral regulations.
“The local communities should stop isolating us, we are suffering. We lack basic needs like food, shelter and medical care.
“We request to be accepted in the community,†Drake Rwakanyango said.
The district veterinary officer, Dr. Kiwanuka Kimbugwe, said the Rakai border post had turned into a centre of animal diseases.
Kimbugwe added that the Uganda-Tanzania border area lacks proper boundary demarcations to control animal diseases like foot and mouth.
He noted that vaccination in Tanzania is inadequate, making the situation worse.
He said some farmers in Rakai hide their cattle during the vaccination exercise and asked the pastoralists to resort to zero-grazing because the culture of keeping cattle is outdated.
Rakai district officials last year accused the Tanzanian authorities of expelling non-Tanzanian pastoralists from their side of the border in contradiction with an earlier signed agreement.
They said they had agreed to consult before sending away foreigners.
OVER 100 pastoralists expelled from Tanzania with 70,000 head of cattle are stranded at Kasanvu village in Kakuuto sub-county, Rakai district.
The pastoralists, who are mainly Rwandans, do not have access to medical facilities and shelter.
They told the members of the parliamentary natural resources committee led by the state minister for primary education, Peter Lokeris, that the Government should help them settle in Rakai.
The MPs were touring the border region on Monday to find ways in which the communities can peacefully co-exist.
They also want to draft regional pastoral regulations.
“The local communities should stop isolating us, we are suffering. We lack basic needs like food, shelter and medical care.
“We request to be accepted in the community,†Drake Rwakanyango said.
The district veterinary officer, Dr. Kiwanuka Kimbugwe, said the Rakai border post had turned into a centre of animal diseases.
Kimbugwe added that the Uganda-Tanzania border area lacks proper boundary demarcations to control animal diseases like foot and mouth.
He noted that vaccination in Tanzania is inadequate, making the situation worse.
He said some farmers in Rakai hide their cattle during the vaccination exercise and asked the pastoralists to resort to zero-grazing because the culture of keeping cattle is outdated.
Rakai district officials last year accused the Tanzanian authorities of expelling non-Tanzanian pastoralists from their side of the border in contradiction with an earlier signed agreement.
They said they had agreed to consult before sending away foreigners.