Interview with the minister for disaster preparedness

IDPs in some districts are willing to go home but those further north are still scared of possible attacks by rebels, Christine Aporu Akol the Ugandan minister of state for disaster preparedness and refugees, said. As a result, the government thinks it is time for IDPs in the some of the war-affected eastern districts to return home, the minister told IRIN. Below are excerpts from the interview: QUESTION: How would you assess the current security situation in the war-affected districts, and how does this affect the possible return of people from the camps to their villages? ANSWER: In the Teso region [comprising the war-affected districts of Soroti, Amuria, Kaberamaido], the security situation has improved. Apart from incursions by Karamojong warriors, it is relatively calm. Since 2005, I have not heard of the LRA [rebel Lord’s Resistance Army] entering this region again. In Acholi region, the LRA remnants are still there - in twos or threes. Overall, people are willing to go back home, but there are mixed feelings. There are also mixed messages from the political opposition, who say people don’t need roofing sheets [part of the incentive being given by government to encourage returns from the camps]. They say instead people need security. My position on Teso is this: Let us start encouraging people to return to their villages from the outer areas, then we move to the border areas such as Obalanga, Otuke and Anyara, once the army secures these areas. Q: Would you agree that the internally displaced people should go home now? A: Up to 90 percent of the IDPs [internally displaced people] in Teso region should be able to return home. If the ongoing disarmament process [in which the government is trying to confiscate illegal weapons from Karamojong warriors] could be managed properly, then people would stop fearing to go home. The government is recruiting policemen to manage the situation as the army disarms the warriors. The idea is to put sense into the warriors. In Lango, the situation is different. Otuke County, for example, suffers a dual displacement - from the LRA and the Karamojong. We are working with the UPDF [Uganda People’s Defence Force – the government army]. As soon as they secure an area, we go there. There is also a mine-action team in the prime minister’s office, which is mainly in Lira, Soroti, Kaberamaido and Amuria. They are conducting mine-awareness education and removing the mines. Then they will move to Acholi region. Q: How serious is the problem of land mines across the war-affected districts? A: Mines were laid in many places. They have killed people in various places, including children in Teso. Q: The Ugandan army has recently announced that it is no longer providing escorts to humanitarian convoys in the region - except those carrying food. Do you think it is now safe enough for humanitarian workers to travel on their own? A: All together, there are about 200 NGOs and agencies in the region. There are some areas which are secure enough for them to go to, but there are also some difficult areas, especially in Kitgum and Pader. But I have not confirmed that the army has stopped escorting them. Q: The government has announced a new strategy, the Uganda Joint Ministerial Committee, on northern Uganda. What does the strategy aim to achieve? A: It is basically to address the issues of returns, resettlement and integration. It also addresses questions of human rights and humanitarian assistance. The idea is that government should effectively address these issues in the short, medium and long term so that people can go back home in dignity. Q: But there have been other programmes in the past, such as the Northern Uganda Social Action Fund. How different is this new programme? A: The Northern Uganda Social Action Fund was a recovery programme to support families. This is going to bring together all the players. We are going to meet to decide when to launch it. Q: You mentioned roofing sheets - one of the packages that the government is giving people to encourage them to return home. Are there enough for everybody? A: In our strategic plan for Lango and Teso, we had budgeted 18 billion Ugandan shillings [US $10 million] for resettlement. When the president decided [in late 2005] that every household should be given 30 roofing sheets, it was a very good thing. We have been giving the IDPs many things, but they lose these things to fires. Currently, we have bought roofing sheets for only 3.5 billion Ugandan schillings [$2 million]. For now, these will be distributed to 50,425 households in the nine war-affected districts. In Teso and Lango regions, we are also going to distribute 1,442 ox ploughs. Q: But these items are surely not enough for everybody. A: It is a start. Already the people have formed farmer groups through which they buy oxen from the Northern Uganda Social Action Fund. For a start, the ploughs will be used to open up the land very fast. They will be used communally - like used to happen traditionally. Then we shall give more ploughs, buy more oxen and provide other implements as well. Q: Where do nongovernmental organisations and other relief agencies fit into this new strategy? A: We are working through two committees - an interministerial committee and an interagency committee. The NGOs, United Nations and other relief agencies are part of the interagency committee. The money we are planning for the region includes contributions from these partners. For example, in areas where we have started resettling people, the [UN] World Food Programme is going to give food aid for six months while FAO [UN Food and Agriculture Organisation] will provide agricultural inputs. UNICEF [UN Children’s Fund] is also providing help. Q: In terms of priority, how will the strategy take effect? A: In our sensitisation programmes, we have been preparing people for this time. Working with the district committees, we have identified security as the number-one priority. Next is the physical and mental preparation of IDPs to return home, and then the question of needs, such as agricultural implements, fast-growing seed material, mosquito nets to control malaria and so on. But it is all process. In Acholi, we are beggining with decongesting the camps. There is also another problem: Across the region, people have developed a dependency syndrome. They expect government to do everything for them. We are encouraging them to also do something for themselves, rather than wait for somebody else to do everything for them.