Hometruths for EA summit on IDPs, refugees

“Urban integration is better than horizontal involvement of refugees in the rural areas. Rural settlements can lead to conflicts with local communities. Refugees must be supported to learn skills to avoid conflicts with locals over agricultural land,” he said.

This soft attitude towards refugees in Uganda has pitied President Museveni against some neighbouring countries.

The Ugandan leader says access to land has increasingly become an issue, especially due to high population growth. He asked officials of his government to plan for industrial cities to manage refugees. 

“Keeping people in camps is not part of our tradition. Why can’t we think of refugees outside agriculture, because land will not always be there? We should let urban industrial centres develop where refugees can gain skills and get jobs,” he said. 

Uganda’s Minister for Refugees and Disaster Preparedness, Tarsis Kabwegyere, said the Summit was an opportunity to set a new agenda on how member countries can help one another.