Distribute quake relief now, says MP

Dodoma. Bukoba Urban Member of Parliament Wilfred Lwakatare has asked the government to start disbursing relief supplies donated to his people to mitigate the effects of the 5.7 magnitude earthquake, which hit Bukoba Town on September 10.

According to Mr Lwakatare, Bukoba residents wonder, where all the supplies have gone, while they still suffer for nearly two months now. “The people have lost faith in the government, the money was donated to the victims of the earthquake, but no single sent has been given to any of them as we are speaking.”

Mr Lwakatare said that on Tuesday evening, while debating a budget framework and national development plan for the 2017/18 fiscal year. He said if the government was not ready to release the money, then they should at least subsidise prices of construction materials so that the affected families could start rebuilding their houses.

“The effects of the September earthquake are so deep, and have affected the economy of our town. We need urgent intervention from the government. The more we delay, the more we make our people groan in anguish,” he said.

Nkenge MP, Dr Diodorus Kamala (CCM), whose constituency was also affected, said there were conflicting directives from the government with some leaders encouraging people to mobilise their own resources and rebuild their houses, while others were telling them to wait for a geological survey to establish the safety of the area.

“My people ask, which way should they go? It is really confusing! They haven’t received any relief aid from the government and they are not receiving proper information,” said Dr Kamala.

Last week, the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs, Mr Mohamed Mchengerwa, told reporters that only Sh800 million had so far been spent out of Sh5 billion raised to support the government’s efforts to rebuild infrastructure in the affected areas.

Mr Mchengerwa said his committee had received government briefing on the matter. He also revealed that the official death toll had increased to 23 from 17 after six people, who were admitted to various hospitals died. They were among 440 people, who sustained injuries.