Busunju: Water, jobs and power
The second episode of The Village looks at the essentials residents say are missing.
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| A Busunju market |
Juliana Ruhfus presents the second episode of The Village, an on-going series exploring the people and power that shape life in a small Ugandan village.
Busunju: Water, jobs and power
Water, employment and better roads, that is what all the residents of Busunju say would make a real difference to their lives. But even these essentials are missing.
Safe drinking water, for example, has become one of the top priorities of the government. Ugandan officials claim that sixty five per cent of the country has access to clean water.
But private wells are so scarce in Busunju that the police have opened the borehole on their compound to the public. With just two boreholes in a parish of 7,500 inhabitants, residents are struggling.
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| Private wells are scarce in the village |
“It is not easy for the government to come,” says Ssekitoleto John, the chairman of the Busunju Water Committee. “The government always puts its projects in the budget which take a long time.”
Others complain that in spite of international donor funding, completion of the main highway in the village has been delayed by over four years. The government, however, calls the road a success story.
People & Power speak to the residents, the workers and the local authority about the wide-scale corruption at local level that is having a direct impact on daily lives.
Watch part one of this episode of People & Power on Youtube
Watch part two of this episode of People & Power on Youtube
This episode of People & Power aired from Sunday, January 20, 2008.
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