Ibanda Municipality seeks Shs 4.5bln to work on dangerous gullies

IBANDA-Ibanda Municipality badly needs Shs 4.5 billion to address the problem of soil erosion that has created dangerous gullies in the town, putting people’s lives at risk.

According to Apollo Kibeherere, mayor Ibanda Municipality, the deep gullies in the three cells of Bufunda division have been dangerous for the last 10 years, especially during heavy rains.

He said some of the gullies have cut off community access roads, schools, churches, and hotels, among other businesses in the area. The affected cells include; Bufunda A, Bufunda B I, and Kyabugaija in Bufunda ward, Bufunda division Ibanda municipality.

Godwin Tumuhairwe, vice chairperson Bufunda I in Bufunda division said some people have lost their lives after falling in deep gullies, especially at night.

“Lives have been lost recently. It was unfortunate that we lost a 50-year-old man popularly known as Kaweesa who fell into one of the gullies at night while he was walking to his home,” he said.

He adds that some people have abandoned their houses and plots of land due to the occurrence of gullies in the area.

“My house is on the verge of collapse because the gully across keeps enlarging and 20 houses have already been washed away by running water,” he said.

Justus Ahimbisibwe, one of the residents adds, “People no longer sleep at night when it’s raining because they fear that their houses can be swept away as well.”

Moses Muhumuza, the proprietor of Crystal Coats Tourism Hotel fears the collapse of his business in the area after the gully cut off the road to the hotel.

As residents we are worried. We don’t want to suffer like the people of Kasese. We are requesting the central government to intervene very soon,” said Muhumuza.

“You can see this gully is rapidly expanding towards my home, eroding my land yet I have playful children who now risk falling into the gully,” Benon Kiemutsya, the Bufunda division chairperson added.

He adds that the gullies have blocked access to Kashuku road which educational institutions like Ibanda Preparatory Primary School, Kimunyu Memorial School, Jolly Nursery School, Ibanda Junior, and Ibanda University.

“The gullies have cut off our road which is used by farmers selling bananas and coffee in the area,” he said.

Robert Tumwesigye the senior environment officer at Ibanda Municipal Council says human activities are to blame for the environmental degradation.

“There is a lot of uncontrolled human activities such as crop farming and deforestation taking place along the mountains and when heavy rain falls, it directly washes away loose bare soil, thus creating deep gullies that are dangerous,’’ he says.

Robert Mugisha, assistant Engineer Ibanda Municipality, says the works department has already inspected and assessed the damage needs in the area.

“There are two trenches of 1.8 kilometres each in Bufunda division that measure 8 meters wide and 8 metres deep. We already wrote a technical report concerning what is needed.

Mugisha said one of the trenches is estimated at Shs 2.5 bln while the other is Shs 2bln.

He added that the money will be used for stone paging, backfilling and retaining, finishing, and constructing the drainage channels to provide a permanent solution for the gullies.

He said the municipality cannot afford the huge budget of Shs 4.5 bln to address the persistent challenge of gullies. “We need financial and other support from the Ministries of Works and Transport, Disaster Preparedness, local government, Finance, Housing and Urban Development as well as the Office of the Prime Minister.

Mugisha also urged the neighbouring communities to relocate to other places, saying that their housing structures are in danger of being washed away by the strong runoff from the hills.

He said that there are more than 200 people who use the disrupted road on a daily basis calling upon the central government to take it as an emergency.

https://thecooperator.news/experts-warn-of-more-landslides-in-bugisu/

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