Starving Laborers Call for Help as World Bank Project Fails to Provide Food

Grace Akello, Kiryadongo –  Twenty casual laborers working on a piped water extension project in Kiryadongo district are facing starvation after the contracted company failed to provide food.
The project, funded by the World Bank through the Ministry of Water and Environment, aims to extend piped water to the Magamaga refugee settlement.
However, Summit Projeket, the company awarded the contract, has neglected its workers.
According to reports, the company director, Nickson Ogwang, has not provided food to the workers for two weeks. They are surviving solely on water.
One worker, who wished to remain anonymous, told this reporter that the director has switched off his phone and that many of the workers were brought from different districts.
“We are starving here. There is no food. The person who brought us here to work has never visited us, and we cannot reach him,” the worker said.
Another worker said they have become refugees themselves, without money to return home.
Magamaga refugee camp covers a radius of 9 kilometers.
The Ankole Times attempted to contact Mr. Nickson Ogwang for a comment but was unable to reach him. He responded to a text message saying he was not in charge of the project.