Uganda's door-to-door check of Bugisu landslide resettlement lists finds households inflated, with Namisindwa's 2,016 registered cut to about 700 who qualify, Nilepost reports

L2Who’s affected

Who is affected: Families in landslide-prone areas. Nilepost: "each eligible household is expected to receive Shs18 million to purchase land in safer areas and establish a new home." In Namisindwa, "approximately 700 households qualified for assistance, against 2,016 initially registered." "In Bududa, about 1,100 households had been verified against an initial list of 3,200 beneficiaries." (Nilepost) The OPM says "The land vacated by the beneficiary households will be taken over by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) for integration into Mt. Elgon National Park."

L3Why it’s quiet

Why it is quiet: A headline search of 13 major U.S. outlets found none with this story as of our publish date; see the O-Score proof page.

L4Deeper impact

Deeper impact: Nilepost computes that in Namisindwa and Bududa "the difference between the registered and verified households amounts to 3,416 entries", and "these entries would have represented a potential expenditure of approximately Shs61.5 billion had they all been approved for payment." Nabbanja: "Some were put on the lists by GISOs, including their relatives, while others paid their way onto the lists" (Nilepost). "If you inflate the numbers, we shall not save lives. Government will say we do not have enough money, yet the people we are supposed to resettle are few," Nabbanja said (Nilepost). Daily Monitor reports the exercise "has revealed ghost beneficiaries, inflated figures and cases of extortion of money allegedly by the Gombolola Internal Security Officers (Gisos)".

L5Full context

Full context: The government's figures differ slightly by source. Nilepost: "Nabbanja said the government had approximately Shs43 billion to implement the initial phases of the resettlement programme". The OPM quotes Nabbanja: "we currently have only Shs 43 billion for this exercise". Daily Monitor: "Government has put aside about Shs43b to relocate about 8,700 families currently living in landslide prone areas in the Bugisu Sub-region". Namisindwa District Chairperson Ema Bwayo said "the original beneficiary lists were compiled in 2016 solely by officials from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) and GISOs, without the involvement of local leaders." (Nilepost) OPM: "The Government has since 2010 resettled over 1,000 households on land it acquired in Kiryandongo, Bulambuli and Kween districts." Sources: Nilepost (Gerald Matembu), Daily Monitor (Fred Wambede) and the Office of the Prime Minister.

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