Where next for Bulucheke IDPs?
Jun 23, 2010
Surrounded by her seven children, Sambura Namataka sits in a tiny tent to shelter from the midday sun. Namataka,30, is a broken woman. She is fatigued and restless due to the redundancy that has come with her ‘new home’.
By Frederick Womakuyu
Surrounded by her seven children, Sambura Namataka sits in a tiny tent to shelter from the midday sun. Namataka,30, is a broken woman. She is fatigued and restless due to the redundancy that has come with her ‘new home’.
This is at Bulucheke Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP) camp in Bududa district where over 5,000 people displaced by landslides were temporarily resettled. Before the landslides, Namataka used to grow bananas on a 10-acre piece of land. Now that she has nothing to do, she finds life at the camp difficult.
“I am not used to sitting without doing anything. I often get sick because of being idle,†she says. “I am not sure about the future of my children. I used to plan for my family and we had enough food. But at the camp, we do not get enough food. The Government should relocate us soon,†she requests.
Wilson Watira, the LC5 chairman, Bududa district, says the Government promised to relocate the IDPs after four months. “We were told to identify land to resettle them. We have identified the land but there is no communication from the Government,†he adds.
The Bududa district council and Bugisu Parliamentary Association (BPA) proposed Bunambutye in Sironko district, Kayunga and Buikwe districts as ideal places to resettle the IDPs. However, they only got land in Sironko.
Distributing the land
Watira says his council resolved that each IDP would get at least two and a-half acres of land. They also agreed that the Government should first put up infrastructure like roads, schools, health centres, houses and water for them before the relocation process begins.
“It is now four months since the IDPs moved into the camp but there are no signs that they will be resettled soon,†Watira explains. Musa Ecweru, the state minister for relief and disaster preparedness, says the Government will keep its promise. “I am going for a Cabinet meeting to discuss the resettlement process. I believe we shall keep within the four months we promised,†he told The New Vision.
Fred Gyabi Bukeni, the chairman of BPA and MP for Bubulo West constituency, says the Government has set aside sh10b to kick-start the resettlement process. He says they have identified over 25,000 acres of land in Bunambutye and Bwikhonge sub-counties of Sironko. Bukeni says 5,000 people will be resettled first, each getting 2.5 acres of land.
Land costs
Kibaale Wambi, the chairman of Sironko district says land in the proposed area costs between sh550,000 per acre in the villages to sh1m per acre in land urban areas.
If the Government is to buy land in villages of Bunambutye, it will spend about sh6.9b and if they are to purchase it closer to the road, they will need about sh12.5b. The cost of IDPs in camps
Catherine Ntabadde, the Uganda Red Cross Society public relations officer, says the society appealed for sh2b to cater for the IDPs for one-and-a-half months. “The Government later told us that the IDPs would stay in the camp for about four months. We then budgeted for this time and we need about sh5b to maintain them.â€
Ntabadde says the society does not only cater for the Bududa IDPs, but also the flood victims from Butaleja.†The money the society appealed for can buy land for over 4,000 IDPs. Asked why the society does not resettle the people, Ntabadde says their work is to give relief to shattered families. “We cannot leave them in camps without food or water,†she adds.
Resettlement threatened
Without mentioning names, Watira reveals that there are some politicians within Bududa district who are telling people not to accept the proposal to resettle them in Bunambutye.
“Recently they mobilised over 25 IDPs and took them to Kayunga,†he says. “Some politicians are telling people that the Bunambutye and Bwikhonge sub-county lands flood.â€
When a team of experts from the Prime Minister’s office recently toured the proposed resettlement areas to ascertain its suitability for human settlement, they noted that the area was a flood zone despite its suitablility for farming.
Annunciata Hakuza, the food security officer at the agriculture ministry, says: “This land is located amid hills. When it rains heavily in the mountains, the lowlands flood. It will also be difficult to dig pit-latrines since the soils become soggy.â€
Land disputes
When The New Vision visited the site recently, it was discovered that the proposed land is at the centre of a dispute between communities in Sironko and Kapchorwa.
People in Kapchorwa say the land in Bunambutye belongs to them. They have threatened to cause trouble if IDPs are resettled there. “This is a declaration of war. As soon as they are resettled, our people will also go there to defend our land. The uncoordinated activities by the Government are a recipe for violence,†says Nelson Chelimo, the LC5 chairman Kapchorwa. “Although the President has ordered people in Sironko and Kapchorwa to stop activities on the land until the issue is resolved, they want to resettle Bududa people in ‘hot soup’.â€
“We have told all stakeholders to remain calm as we solve the issue. Some activities may have taken place illegally and we are investigating it. We shall stop the activities,†says Francis Mugizi, the secretary of the Government verification committee.
Surrounded by her seven children, Sambura Namataka sits in a tiny tent to shelter from the midday sun. Namataka,30, is a broken woman. She is fatigued and restless due to the redundancy that has come with her ‘new home’.
This is at Bulucheke Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP) camp in Bududa district where over 5,000 people displaced by landslides were temporarily resettled. Before the landslides, Namataka used to grow bananas on a 10-acre piece of land. Now that she has nothing to do, she finds life at the camp difficult.
“I am not used to sitting without doing anything. I often get sick because of being idle,†she says. “I am not sure about the future of my children. I used to plan for my family and we had enough food. But at the camp, we do not get enough food. The Government should relocate us soon,†she requests.
Wilson Watira, the LC5 chairman, Bududa district, says the Government promised to relocate the IDPs after four months. “We were told to identify land to resettle them. We have identified the land but there is no communication from the Government,†he adds.
The Bududa district council and Bugisu Parliamentary Association (BPA) proposed Bunambutye in Sironko district, Kayunga and Buikwe districts as ideal places to resettle the IDPs. However, they only got land in Sironko.
Distributing the land
Watira says his council resolved that each IDP would get at least two and a-half acres of land. They also agreed that the Government should first put up infrastructure like roads, schools, health centres, houses and water for them before the relocation process begins.
“It is now four months since the IDPs moved into the camp but there are no signs that they will be resettled soon,†Watira explains. Musa Ecweru, the state minister for relief and disaster preparedness, says the Government will keep its promise. “I am going for a Cabinet meeting to discuss the resettlement process. I believe we shall keep within the four months we promised,†he told The New Vision.
Fred Gyabi Bukeni, the chairman of BPA and MP for Bubulo West constituency, says the Government has set aside sh10b to kick-start the resettlement process. He says they have identified over 25,000 acres of land in Bunambutye and Bwikhonge sub-counties of Sironko. Bukeni says 5,000 people will be resettled first, each getting 2.5 acres of land.
Land costs
Kibaale Wambi, the chairman of Sironko district says land in the proposed area costs between sh550,000 per acre in the villages to sh1m per acre in land urban areas.
If the Government is to buy land in villages of Bunambutye, it will spend about sh6.9b and if they are to purchase it closer to the road, they will need about sh12.5b. The cost of IDPs in camps
Catherine Ntabadde, the Uganda Red Cross Society public relations officer, says the society appealed for sh2b to cater for the IDPs for one-and-a-half months. “The Government later told us that the IDPs would stay in the camp for about four months. We then budgeted for this time and we need about sh5b to maintain them.â€
Ntabadde says the society does not only cater for the Bududa IDPs, but also the flood victims from Butaleja.†The money the society appealed for can buy land for over 4,000 IDPs. Asked why the society does not resettle the people, Ntabadde says their work is to give relief to shattered families. “We cannot leave them in camps without food or water,†she adds.
Resettlement threatened
Without mentioning names, Watira reveals that there are some politicians within Bududa district who are telling people not to accept the proposal to resettle them in Bunambutye.
“Recently they mobilised over 25 IDPs and took them to Kayunga,†he says. “Some politicians are telling people that the Bunambutye and Bwikhonge sub-county lands flood.â€
When a team of experts from the Prime Minister’s office recently toured the proposed resettlement areas to ascertain its suitability for human settlement, they noted that the area was a flood zone despite its suitablility for farming.
Annunciata Hakuza, the food security officer at the agriculture ministry, says: “This land is located amid hills. When it rains heavily in the mountains, the lowlands flood. It will also be difficult to dig pit-latrines since the soils become soggy.â€
Land disputes
When The New Vision visited the site recently, it was discovered that the proposed land is at the centre of a dispute between communities in Sironko and Kapchorwa.
People in Kapchorwa say the land in Bunambutye belongs to them. They have threatened to cause trouble if IDPs are resettled there. “This is a declaration of war. As soon as they are resettled, our people will also go there to defend our land. The uncoordinated activities by the Government are a recipe for violence,†says Nelson Chelimo, the LC5 chairman Kapchorwa. “Although the President has ordered people in Sironko and Kapchorwa to stop activities on the land until the issue is resolved, they want to resettle Bududa people in ‘hot soup’.â€
“We have told all stakeholders to remain calm as we solve the issue. Some activities may have taken place illegally and we are investigating it. We shall stop the activities,†says Francis Mugizi, the secretary of the Government verification committee.