President Yoweri Museveni has contributed Shs 5million as condolences for each of the flood victims in Mbale.
The money is being delivered by the Minister for the Presidency, Ms. Babirye Milly Babalanda.
23 people have been confirmed dead following heavy rains that came down following a long dry spell. Most were victims who were swept into River Nabuyonga.
Each of the families will receive Shs5million for every victim as condolences, and to help in burial arrangements, totaling Shs115million.
In his message delivered by Babalanda to the families and the people of Mbale, Museveni describes the occurrence as regrettable, but says it is partly caused by failure of people to take his advice on the issue of protecting the environment.
He further notes that RDCs/RCCs and their Deputies had been instructed to ensure that no more encroachment on the protected environment happens again.
“We cannot afford to lose any more lives and to continue spending big sums of money to resettle those affected at a time Government is committing more funds to wealth creation efforts such as Parish Development Model. On Friday, I will address the nation to give more guidance on how we can deal with these incidents,” Museveni says.
The President also assures the displaced persons that Government, through the Prime Minister’s Office, would assist them in all ways possible.