"He said that more than 300,000 people, half of them from Katakwi and Kaberamaido districts, are camped in Soroti following attacks from the Lord's Resistance Army rebels."...."These people are sleeping on verandahs with no food and clothing," he said.
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The Monitor (Kampala)
November 18, 2003
Posted to the web November 18, 2003
Patrick O. Jaramogi
Mukono
A cholera outbreak in Soroti is a big possibility if government does not move in quickly with preventive measures.
"The situation is terrible, the weather is bad with too much rain," said Soroti Town Clerk Mackay Opolot on Friday. "The sanitation is pathetic. What will follow is cholera if government does not intervene in time."
Mr Opolot was speaking at the Urban Authorities Association of Uganda (UAAU) Annual general meeting held at Colline Hotel Mukono on Friday.
He said that more than 300,000 people, half of them from Katakwi and Kaberamaido districts, are camped in Soroti following attacks from the Lord's Resistance Army rebels.
"These people are sleeping on verandahs with no food and clothing," he said.
"Some NGOs have come up to assist but this is not enough. The toilets which were meant for a few are already full due to the large population."
Opolot said cows, goats and sheep are displaced as well.
"Soroti town used to be one of the cleanest towns in Uganda but today it's all scattered with filth and animals¼," he said.
The association passed a resolution appealing to the central government to give equalisation grants to districts affected by war.
"Since most of the people displaced are in camps they have no source of income and thus the districts have no revenue yet they need the money. Government should support such districts with equalisation grants," the association chairman, who is also Kampala mayor, John Ssebaana Kizito said.
The association members, who included town clerks, speakers and treasurers from 81urban centres all over the country, also resolved to find ways to help the war affected districts.
