The Presidential Affairs Committee has demanded detailed plans, funding information and timelines from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) before Government proceeds with the establishment of a new refugee settlement in Kitgum District.
The committee, chaired by Hon. Martin Ojara Mapenduzi, on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, questioned OPM officials led by Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees Sam Engola over preparations for the settlement, including water, sanitation and health services.
Mapenduzi said the committee had received documents showing that the community had voluntarily offered 490 acres for the settlement, alongside a Kitgum District Council resolution and an approved physical planning report. The committee was still studying the documents, including evidence of environmental, social and climate impact assessments.
The land that will host the refugees is located at Amida west subcounty in Kitgum district.
He said the committee was concerned that OPM’s own assessment had identified gaps in basic services at the proposed settlement.
“Lat¬rines are supposed to be there. You need water sources. You need to have a medical facility, health facility,” Mapenduzi said.
He said OPM needed to explain who would provide the missing services, how much they would cost and when they would be delivered.
Mapenduzi said the plans should be time-bound to enable Parliament to track implementation.
Minister Engola told the committee that preparations were already under way, with development partners supporting key services.
“I told you last time that UNHCR has been on the ground. That map was done by them. The demarcation has been done,” Engola said.
He said a partner was providing boreholes because government would not move refugees to the site without water.
“I told you that we had a partner for water. He’s giving us five boreholes because we said we cannot move until water is there. The demarcation for the toilets is already there,” he said.
Engola said health centres were already available and OPM was engaging donors to provide additional support.
“Health centres are already there. We are really busy asking our donors to help us immediately. And UNHCR has agreed,” he said.
He said refugees would not be moved until basic facilities were in place.
“So we are not moving the refugees until the toilet system is there, the water drilling is there,” Engola said.
He said that the new camp was ready to open, adding that UNHCR was prepared to provide funding, while UNICEF was drilling water at the site, and several other partners had committed to supporting the project.
Engola said the approaching rainy season had increased the urgency.
“So that is why now we have been cleared. I am going to the district with my team and we are going to start the work immediately,” Engola said.
He added that the project had funding, with refugees also supported by international partners.
Meanwhile, the committee also questioned OPM over incomplete projects under the Development Response to Displacement Impacts Project (DRDIP 1), a World Bank-funded programme supporting refugee-hosting districts.
Mapenduzi said some responses provided by OPM remained inadequate and lacked supporting documents.
He said the committee had summoned contractors who failed to complete DRDIP I projects to appear before it next Wednesday.
The OPM progress documents show several stalled projects, including bridges and roads in Yumbe and Lamwo, a council hall and health centre in Yumbe, and an administration block in Terego, with some delays attributed to changes in scope.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.
