Uganda Red Cross Secretary General Robert Kwesiga, has urged the government of Uganda to fund and operationalize the national disaster plan to adequately prepare for tragic incidents like the deadly August 10 Kiteezi dumpsite collapse.
Early 2024, the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) requested an additional funding of Shs63.679 billion to operationalize the Disaster Risk Management Plan, among other initiatives.
“We have a national disaster preparedness plan, and it exists. The challenge lies in its funding and operationalization. I think the weakness at the government level is waiting for a disaster to happen, then raising money afterward. By then, it is often too late because lives have already been lost, and properties destroyed,” Kwesiga told Monitor.
He added: “The entire concept of the national disaster plan needs to be operationalized and financially supported.”
Kwesiga said Red Cross have established a humanitarian fund to raise resources for disasters, noting that “the international community is not ready to respond to what happened in Kiteezi because it does not make headlines.”
“The Red Cross humanitarian fund will allow us to create a fund so that we don’t need to wait for another Kiteezi or Bududa before we start looking for resources to help victims. The fund is going to be managed by trustees and will have an international audit firm,” Kwesiga revealed.
OPM spokesperson Charles Odongotho confirmed that the Disaster Risk Management Plan has not yet been funded, despite a request made by the office.
“So currently, we are really just managing disasters as they occur, which is not very good for the country. As a nation and as policy implementers, I think we need to start thinking about a better way of managing risk. There should be early warning systems in place to ensure that people are informed in time and are alert. The plan includes proposed interventions that might have saved many lives lost during the Kiteezi crisis,” Odongotho held.
He added: “The Disaster Risk Management Plan also proposes a national disaster information center—a kind of information system that sends and communicates early warnings, empowering people. When you empower people, you build their capacity to respond to and detect dangers coming their way.”
According to the Uganda Red Cross, they have managed to set up temporary tents to house victims from over 100 households affected by the landfill collapse.
In response to the disaster, Absa Bank Uganda has donated Shs100m to the Uganda Red Cross Society to boost immediate relief.
“We hope that this donation will help fund the purchase of home shelter kits that will provide essential relief supplies for at least 200 affected people and families. It is our hope that the donation will help ease the pressure being faced,” Absa Bank managing director Mumba Kalifungwa observed.
