The Ntoroko county area Member of Parliament (MP), Gerald Ibanda Rwemulikya, has called upon the government of Uganda through the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) to offer drastic support to Ntoroko residents who have been hit by severe floods, leaving many homesteads displaced and property destroyed.

While speaking to our reporter on September 2, 2024, Rwemulikya urged the government to render support with relief items for the affected members of his community.

“We need the Office of the Prime Minister to come in very first and give both food and nonfood items, and we also need shelter to set up tents since many of the affected persons are sleeping just in the open by the roadside, “Rwemulikya said.

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Rwemulikya further explained how the roads have been cut off and have limited access to the major town of Rwebisengo, adding that the health centers have been submerged, causing a crisis with access to health care.

According to Maliyamungu Kisembo, a resident of Butungama sub-county, there is a need for the government to relocate residents since the floods affecting Ntoroko have become catastrophic, affecting residents every rainy season.

“We don’t have mosquito nets, we don’t have food, our cows are dying, and we even don’t know where to put them. We want the government to assist us and get us better land where we can survive,” Kisembo said.

The Ntoroko district LCV Chairperson, William Kasoro, said that the recent heavy floods can be attributed to bad land use practices like overgrazing and deforestation around the banks of the River Semuliki.

“The river banks are collapsing because of degradation; take a look at the Congolese side; there is thick vegetation and the river banks are not collapsing; on our side there is overgrazing and deforestation, and that’s the cause of these floods,” Kasoro said.

Kasoro further urged the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) to implement the Semuliki catchment management plan, which describes action to be taken to prevent unsustainable land use practices.

For the past years, River Semuliki has been busting its banks every rainy season, leaving over 1000 households displaced and destroying properties. The 2024 floods have hit hard in the sub-counties of Bweramule and Butungama, leaving many helpless, Save for the little efforts of good Samaritans and the Red Cross Society, who have come out to the rescue and provided a few basic needs, which are still not enough for the huge number of displaced residents.

The Ntoroko residents from areas prone to floods had in the past requested the government of Uganda to relocate them to a small part of the neighboring Semuliki wildlife reserve; however, the discussion has not yet been fully concluded.