Butaleja devastated by River Manafwa flooding

Rice farmers and residents in Butaleja district have asked the government to construct embankments along the banks of River Manafwa in order to control flooding in the area.

Hundreds of rice farmers and residents have on several cases been displaced by floods triggered by heavy rain and are now living in dire conditions.

The displaced families and rice farmers have always sought refuge at schools and churches in the affected sub-counties. 

The most affected sub-counties include Himutu and Mazimasa, where houses were submerged, and crops such as rice, potatoes, cassava, beans, and livestock, destroyed.

However, the rice farmers said the government should consider constructing embankments on the river to save them from misery whenever it rains. 

"The next government should consider building embankments to protect hundreds of rice farmers who are living in low-lying areas because they have suffered enough due to floods," Bashir Wakelo a resident said.

Wakelo said the embankments will also stabilise the river banks and improve agricultural productivity. 

Other rivers that burst their banks due to heavy rains in the Bugisu sub-region include Tsutsu, Soloko, and Nabuyonga. 

"The government should learn from other nations that have built embankments on the rivers, which are strong enough to contain the raging waters, so its citizens do not suffer like we are suffering here," Wakelo said. 

Robert Habone another resident said they have requested the current government to put the embankments on the river but in vain.

"The only way to save our people is to put embankments on this river but not supplying relief food," Habone said.

"The water comes downstream from the mountains and it converges in Butaleja, which is in a lowland. If we cannot control the water upstream before it reaches Butaleja, we shall see no end to these floods," he said.

Habone said the district can also undertake mitigating measures such as tree planting along the banks of the river, among others.

"The government had a good proposal of Bulusambu Dam in Bugisu to help manage the flow of water but some politicians opposed it, which was wrong," he said.

An environmentalist who preferred anonymity said residents should plant bamboos on either side of the river banks all the way from Bugisu in order to control flooding. 

"The bamboo will stop the silting. When this is done, the deposits already in the river can then be removed and we shall have solved the problem," he said. 

The district senior environmental officer, Lamula Were, however, blamed continuous floods on encroachment on the river banks.

She said residential houses have been built and other activities, including farming and stone quarrying, are being carried out along the river banks.

"River Manafwa must have a breathing space. People must stop digging up to the river banks because this is one of the reasons for the flooding," she said.

Some of the residents called for relocation from the risk areas that are always flooding.

Some of the residents appealed to the government to construct a rice processing plant in the area to help them look for a better market for their rice.

"We are always cheated by middlemen that come to buy our rice," the resident said, adding that some of the businessmen and women that attempted to transport their rice to Kampala or Nairobi are robbed.