Wakiso leaders mobilize residents for gov’t relief food distribution

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Several village council chairpersons in Wakiso district have embarked on registering and mobilizing of residents within their jurisdiction in preparation for the scheduled distribution of food and other relief items amidst confusion of distribution pattern.

The food distribution by government has been flagged off today.

Earlier this week government through the Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda announced that it will start the distribution and other essential items to a total of 1.5 m vulnerable people in Kampala and Wakiso districts as a way of mitigating the challenges caused by the coronavirus,

Rugunda stated that each family was to get 6kgs of maize flour and 3kgs of beans whereas lactating mothers and the sick were to receive powdered milk and 2kgs of sugar each.

However, the Parliament led by its Speaker Rebecca Kadaga rejected the government’s proposal to distribute food starting with Kampala and Wakiso districts. Kadaga reasoned that in most cases programs meant to benefit all Ugandans end up in Kampala and Wakiso and that the rest of the parts in the country do not benefit from the same.

But the government through her Spokesperson Ofwono Opondo insisted that government must continue with the decision to distribute relief food items starting with Kampala and Wakiso districts as earlier planned. But by Friday, government had not issued clear guidelines concerning this distribution.

Now, since the Prime Minister Rugunda had notified that distribution chain will include Local Council leaders to easily identify those who are supposed to receive relief from government, the various local council leaders in Wakiso district have since started to plan on how food can be delivered in their areas.

Mpokota Sserwadda, LC Chairperson of Nansana East Cell, says that since the government indicated that they will be the contact persons they have decided to be proactive and start short listing those whom they think are eligible to receive government relief.

Our reporter who visited Sserwadda at his home which doubles as the council office found him registering residents. Three were at the bench explaining why they think government should give them food. Sserwadda stresses that he has found that every person wants to get a share of the relief.

Isaac Mugambe, resident of Nansana east cell, notes that since all residents stopped working they are bound to get relief. He says that the easiest way of distributing food would be moving door to door than pointing out groups of people who can benefit.

Jessca Zzimbe, mother of seven leaving in Nsumbi Village Wakiso sub county buys Mugambe’s idea noting that the chairperson might not be fair enough but door to door method would be the best.

Vincent Matovu, the Ochieng village vice chairperson says that they are bound to meet challenges given the fact that the villages don’t have registers of people leaving in their areas. He argues that although everyone would like to benefit government should look at the most vulnerable groups which according to him include elderly, people with disabilities and single mothers.

In Katooke cell, Engineer Stephen Kaweesi the village chairperson has been forced to close his office after overwhelming number of residents turning up for registration. Kaweesi has since decided to use a community radio to call all residents to gather at a given playground on Saturday to receive food. He argues that all the residents have been equally affected and therefore deserve to be given food.

However, the approach of gathering people will be compromising a presidential directive which banned gathering of more than five people.

The Wakiso Deputy Resident District Commissioner, Justine Mbabazi shares that all what is being done by village chairpersons is illegal since they have not notified anyone to carry out registration. She adds that the prime minister’s officer is soon producing clear guidelines and operating produces for the exercise.

“We have not told anyone to register people. We are waiting for the guidelines so that we streamline who will be what, when and why. But if we rush to do things then we might comprise the entire process,” says Mbabazi.

The Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugee Hillary Onek has since explained that the government’s focus is Kampala and Wakiso, can be justified by the fact that most of the people in the other parts of the country are not stranded as those in Kampala and Wakiso.

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