By Alan Mwesigwa
Adjumani district leaders are worried about the increasing refugee population which has affected the delivery of social services.
The leaders said refugees now outnumber the local population and called upon government to provide more resources to deal with the situation.
Michael Wanje, the Adjumani Chief Administrative Officer said the Shs 70 billion budget they receive is not adequate to cater for the population.
The district has 19 refugee settlements.
Leaders attributed the rising refugee numbers to "idleness" in the settlements which they say leads refugees with little option but to engage in sexual activity to kill time.
Andeoye Robert Andeoye, the Adjumani refugee settlements commandant said while they are yet to register the number of new born refugee children, their numbers are high.
"Actually in these camps, you find a family having three children in three years, so of course the numbers now must be high, but it is not good to have number of refugees surpass that of the nationals," Andeoye said.
The refugee influx has equally had a ripple effect on the environment with the refugees being accused of cutting down trees for charcoal.
The concerns were expressed during a visit by the UN Women deputy country representative, Adekemi Ndieli, to Maaji settlement camp to assess progress of the women empowerment projects.
A number of interventions including funding women groups, starting business for refugees and giving cash handouts are being implemented in the settlement with an aim of boosting the livelihoods of refugees more especially uplifting the status of women.
