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Mpuuga faults government for 'sluggish' response to Mbale flood victims

The Leader of the Opposition in Parliament (LOP), Honourable Mathias Mpuuga, has criticised the government’s slow response to evacuate and offer relief to victims of the Mbale flash floods.

Mathias Mpuuga

Mpuuga made these comments while leading a team of opposition members of the Parliament on a visit to assess the extent of the damage and the government's response to the disaster that left at least 23 people dead and hundreds more displaced after several rivers notably Nabuyonga, Namatala, and Nashibiso burst their banks triggering floods in Mbale city.

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“The disaster that is the flash floods, is an act of God but the consequences could have been avoidable if there was a government in name and action,” Mpuuga said.

Meeting the city’s disaster committee, the MPs were told that while they had received relief food and 150 tarpaulin covers, distribution of the same to the victims had failed to kick off since the Shs 1.2 million disbursed by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) was inadequate.

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“I am not surprised by the sluggish response of the regime but shocked by their ineptness even when it’s all clear that there’s a disaster in this sub-region,” Mpuuga said.

Contingency funds should go to the local governments because the real business to do with that money is [at the local government level], not in Kampala. Since every district or city has a disaster management team, it must be funded from the budget,” he added.

He did not spare the police leadership that he accused of “ineptness” when it comes to responding to emergencies.

“A major road was [cut off by the floodwaters] and the police in this region could not block the roads to stop traffic from moving,” Mpuuga said.

Several cars got submerged at Nabuyonga river bridge along the Mbale – Soroti road after the river burst its banks.

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Mpuuga demanded the resignation of the police commanders in the area as the Chief Opposition Whip, Honourable John Baptist Nambeshe accused the police of negligence and failure to manage and coordinate rescue efforts.

A group of cyclists and commercial truck drivers that retrieved the bodies from the fast-running waters of River Nabuyonga told the Opposition MPs that the government had failed to pay for their services.

Mpuuga gave them Shs 500,000 in appreciation of their efforts before proceeding to hand over foodstuffs to residents of the Malukhu slum.

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