KASESE DISTRICT: Basongora communities in Kasese District have appealed to the government to put in place infrastructure that will enable them access clean and safe water.
They say that since they were evicted from their original areas in the National Park and resettled by the government, they were left with no any safe water source.
They claim that lack of safe water has led to their suffering from water related diseases among them typhoid and dysentery.
Leaders and the local cattle keepers in the area say that, although Kasese District is endowed with so many water sources, the problem is that it is not a priority for authorities to establish water treatment plants and piped water supply.
The Chairperson of Busunga Parish in Lake Katwe Sub County, Busongora County South Constituency, Steven Asaba says that they get water from River Nyamugasani but during the rainy season it floods making it difficult for people to access it.
” Residents have to trek 3KM to 15Km depending on one’s village, to access water for both domestic and farm use which affects other activities.This problem affects the whole community and our animals.” He says.
He notes that water from River Nyamugasani is also very dirty. People share water from this river with animals. He says the worst part is some people in area who bath and wash clothes from this sane river.
“Other people even defecate in the river but we drink and use it because we have no option. We sometimes go to Kisinga Sub County where there is piped water and you must have transport means like motorcycle, bicycle and or a truck since it is very far and whoever cannot manage has to suffer.” He emphasizes.
Another resident, Yusuf Kahigo a teacher at Busunga Primary School says that members in his family have to trek 4Km to access the unclean water at River Nyamugasani.
“At school, we always have cases of typhoid among learners because they take that dirty water yet you have to put in money to get it and keep boiling to better it so we really have a big problem with the source of water,” he adds.
Kahigo notes that diseases associated with the use of unclean water is also affecting the general performance of students.
Ndahura II Kashagama, the traditional leader of the Basongora asks the government to adress this crisis.
He proposes that the government could consider setting up water treatment plants along the rivers and then pump clean water to the communities.
While meeting environment journalists from Water and Environment Media Network (WEMNET-Uganda) at his residence in Kasese, Kashagama noted that lack of access to safe clean water has disturbed his subjects.
“The children who are born now in and around Nyakatonzi (Busongora County) have brown teeth because the chemicals from the boreholes cause mineral imbalance in the body caused by fluoride and other metals contaminants. The bones turn very brutal and brown, that means if someone has that syndrome and gets an injury that may be a fracture, they will not recover, they will become lame or it will take them a long time to fix that problem. The only way to fix it now is to get them piped water or filters for those boreholes they are using.”
The Basongora said that during dry spells, they lose more than 500 cattle.
They aalso attribute lack of access to safe and clean water to poor representation at the district local government.
