Over 800 Lira IDPs demand packages
Mar 09, 2010
A total of 842 displaced persons at Bala stock farm in Lira district have appealed to the Government to provide them with iron sheets and farm implements for resettlement.
By Patrick Okino
A total of 842 displaced persons at Bala stock farm in Lira district have appealed to the Government to provide them with iron sheets and farm implements for resettlement.
The IDPs, especially those with disabilities, widows, orphans and the elderly, have vowed not to return to their villages until President Yoweri Museveni fulfills his pledge of providing them with resettlement packages.
Many said they cannot construct grass-thatched houses, they have no money for transport to their villages and some had lost their land after spending years in the camps.
The Government closed camps in Lango sub-region in 2007 after the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels were flushed out of the north and took sanctuary in Congo.
Each displaced person in Lango, Teso, Acholi and West Nile was entitled to 30 iron sheets, farm tools and seeds from the Government.
But Simon Odongo, 81, said he had not benefited from the scheme and that he was still waiting for the second phase of the distribution exercise.
Odongo, who hails from Ogur sub-county, said: “I cannot risk going back when I don’t have a house. They (Government) should give us iron sheets and we decide what to do.â€
John Mollo, a security officer in charge of the camp, said those stranded were from Otuke, Moroto and Oyam districts. He added that residents who had returned to their villages were making routine visits to the camp, hoping to get the resettlement packages.
A total of 842 displaced persons at Bala stock farm in Lira district have appealed to the Government to provide them with iron sheets and farm implements for resettlement.
The IDPs, especially those with disabilities, widows, orphans and the elderly, have vowed not to return to their villages until President Yoweri Museveni fulfills his pledge of providing them with resettlement packages.
Many said they cannot construct grass-thatched houses, they have no money for transport to their villages and some had lost their land after spending years in the camps.
The Government closed camps in Lango sub-region in 2007 after the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels were flushed out of the north and took sanctuary in Congo.
Each displaced person in Lango, Teso, Acholi and West Nile was entitled to 30 iron sheets, farm tools and seeds from the Government.
But Simon Odongo, 81, said he had not benefited from the scheme and that he was still waiting for the second phase of the distribution exercise.
Odongo, who hails from Ogur sub-county, said: “I cannot risk going back when I don’t have a house. They (Government) should give us iron sheets and we decide what to do.â€
John Mollo, a security officer in charge of the camp, said those stranded were from Otuke, Moroto and Oyam districts. He added that residents who had returned to their villages were making routine visits to the camp, hoping to get the resettlement packages.