Government will on Saturday launch the distribution of relief food to at least 1.5 million vulnerable urban poor affected by the virus lockdown in Wakiso and Kampala districts.
“The distribution will be done at LCI level by the LCs supported by the Police and UPDF for purposes of transparency and avoiding crowds, according to the Prime Minister, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda.
“Security will stay at the distribution point from the beginning upto the end of the exercise,” he said in a statement released on Wednesday.
The relief package will include maize flour (6kg per head), beans (3kg per head) and salt.
“In addition, lactating mothers and the sick will receive powdered milk (2kg) and sugar (2kg),” the Prime Minister added.
In his Monday address President Museveni banned volunteers distributing food relief to struggling Ugandans saying they were seeking cheap popularity and yet putting the lives of Ugandans at risk as some distribution attracted crowds. Crowds had been earlier banned by the president as they were said to facilitate the spread of the coronavirus.
The president ordered police to arrest anyone who defied the order and charge them with attempted murder. He said anyone who wanted to donate food should hand it over to the taskforce headed by the Prime Minister.
Mr Museveni on Tuesday said government would issue food to struggling Ugandans especially those that depended on their jobs for a daily meal and yet cannot work due to presidential guidelines to combat COVID -19.
The president said the office of the Prime Minister would work out a mechanism for the distribution. Mr Martin Owor, the Commissioner Disaster Preparedness at the office of the Prime Minister says they have used National statistics from UBOS to identify the most vulnerable places with the urban poor. The areas listed include; Kireka, Nansana, Katanga and others. He says they will also use the LC Chairpersons to identify further the neediest people.
Mr Owor says they chose to start with Kampala and Wakiso because the urban poor here come from far areas and yet survive on daily earnings. He says they hope the situation will have normalised after 14 days otherwise, they will have to think of how to extend food to more groups in need.
The Prime Minister’s announcement comes days after government for alleged failure to provide food to starving citizens who have since been confined to their homes due to the lockdown.
Activists through their umbrella body, Center For Food and Adequate Living Rights (CEFROHT), a civil society organisation; in its law suit filed at the High Court on Monday, contends that government in response to curb the spread of the deadly corona virus pandemic, has announced and implemented several restrictions which have left citizens confined to their homes but without food to eat and yet it's their constitutional right to eat food.
CEFROHT further claims that following the issuance of the government directives, prices of food and other commodities such as salt, sugar and beans have increased drastically leaving many unable to afford them.
They want court to declare that the failure and omission to issue guidance on food access and availability of food during this corona virus pandemic is a violation or a threat to objective XXII, XXIII and Articles 20, 45 and 8A of the constitution.
Meanwhile, Mr Crispin Kaheru, the former Coordinator, Citizens’ Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda (CCEDU) has urged the government to avoid politicizing such relief efforts.
“Deserving citizens should be given priority to quickly and easily obtain this food, irrespective of their political affiliation, religious and ethnic background. In the past, such well-intentioned relief programs have been, unfortunately, manipulated for political mileage and/or as tools for retribution,” he said.
According to him, people will expect government to rise above petty politics and ensure a high degree of transparency and fairness as it distributes the food.
