It was an early Christmas for the victims of last month’s landslides in Bulambuli after President Museveni donated 20 cows for slaughter during the festive season.
The president assured the landslide victims that government will provide them with two acres of land per family and enough money to construct better houses for themselves.
“I’m sorry to hear what happened to you. The government people came here. I did not come because I had gone to Arusha, but I know the problem. I will buy you some land—two acres per family. The shs10 million they’re giving you is a partial payment because we want you to get money to build a small house for yourself and then the two acres and the capital to start with,” Museveni said.
Last month, over 30 people lost their lives after devastating landslides swept through Kimono Village, Buluganya Sub-County in Bulambuli District, burying over 20 homes.
While addressing the survivors, President Museveni urged them to encourage their relatives still living in the disaster-prone mountainous areas to evacuate, assuring them that the government will find them alternative safe areas to settle.
“We have been telling you that the mountain is not for settlement. It is mainly meant for forest. You can build in the lower level but not in the top there; it’s very dangerous. You tell all the people in the mountain to get out; we shall relocate all of them,” he stated while offering them 20 cows for eating during the festive season.
Landslides in the mountainous areas of Bulambuli and other parts of the Bugisu subregion are a recurring natural disaster during periods of heavy rainfall, posing severe risks to the people living in these areas.
