Disagreement over numbers of homeless in Goma

Significant disagreement persists over the number of homeless people in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, from which 350,000 people fled following a volcanic eruption on 17 January, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Monday.

While OCHA agrees with the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD), the anti-government force in control of the town, on a figure of 100,000 homeless, the international donor community believes it to be 60,000. Moreover, OCHA and RCD put the town’s population at between 400,000 and 500,000 while donors say it is 300,000.

Despite the differences, there is agreement that some 30,000 homeless people were now outside the town, OCHA reported.

RCD had announced a two-month suspension of charges for rent, water, and electricity for town residents, OCHA reported on Monday. However, for safety reasons, citizens are prohibited from rebuilding their homes on top of the hardening lava. On Monday, the RCD was due to begin the rehabilitation of two sites outside Goma - in Mugunga and Lac Vert – to which the town’s residents would be encouraged to move. The international community was waiting to see if the population willingly relocated before providing assistance, OCHA reported.

OCHA said it would support the Goma observatory financially for three-months, to strengthen volcanic and seismic surveillance in the Goma region. However, OCHA said, this did not mean it would be responsible for the surveillance.