Busia Deputy Governor Arthur Odera has urged the National government to intervene and help stop Ugandan natives from carrying out mining activities at Alupe area.
Speaking during a forum to launch a six-month tree planting exercise at Alupe subcounty hospital, Odera noted that the mining activities have not only interfered with the boundary but also led to water pollution in River Alupe.
“The local residents are suffering because of the polluted water and a section of houses are facing cracks due to the mining activities,” he said.
Busia County Commissioner Mwachaunga Chaunga said that the mining activities have led to flooding in the area during the rainy season.
Chaunga blamed a few Ugandan natives of taking advantage of the porous border to engage in illegal activities.
Alupe University Vice Chancellor, Prof. Peter Barasa blamed a section of Ugandan residents for uprooting tree seedlings planted at the institution.
“I want to ask the County Commissioner to be keen on security along the border,” Prof Barasa said adding that all the lightning arrestors installed by the institution have also been stolen.
East African Community Affairs and Regional Development, Cabinet Secretary Beatrice Askul who was present regretted what she termed as unfortunate activities along the border.
“It is only last week when we had a meeting with our Ugandan counterparts on issues touching on people’s movements, goods,” she said adding that the issue of mining could have been tackled adequately.
Askul promised to share and handle the issue with her Ugandan counterpart arguing that the Ugandan authorities might not be aware of the ongoing mining activities at the border.
The CS and her team visited the mining site on Tuesday after launching the six months’ tree planting exercise in Busia County.
By Salome Alwanda
