President Museveni has directed the Office of the Prime Minister [OPM] not to rely on suppliers to deliver relief items to the people of Karamoja.
Last week, the government flagged off the distribution of emergency food relief to the Karamoja sub-region following a severe drought. The intervention includes 552 tonnes of maize flour and 238 tonnes of beans.
The distribution kicked off in the hardest-hit districts of Kaabong, Kotido, Moroto, Karenga, and Nabilatuk. The relief, worth Shs45 billion, was procured using an emergency fund authorised by President Yoweri Museveni.
According to the Minister of State for Karamoja, Beatrice Akello Akori, Museveni directed that the exercise be handled by the UPDF and Uganda Prisons Service, which have sufficient food stocks to ensure the smooth running of the exercise.
“I want to thank the President for his wise guidance. This time we are not using contractors. He guided that we should not rely on the suppliers that OPM has procured. We should rely on the UPDF and Prisons, which have at least a good amount of food with them. So OPM has signed a memorandum of understanding with NEC, and NEC are the ones supplying this food,” she said.
She made the remarks at the inauguration of the new president of the Lions Club of Rubirizi, Lion Vincent B Tumusiime. She noted that OPM will continue with its supervisory mandate during the exercise.
“Our work is only to monitor the delivery of this food until it reaches the local government. Then the local government will take over from there. We also told them this food needs to go directly to sub-county headquarters to avoid delays and mishandling of these food items,” she added.
She pledged continued political and community mobilisation for the development of the people of Karamoja through the four-acre model so that they can transform their livelihoods and get out of poverty.
The Karamoja sub-region is currently experiencing the worst prolonged drought in northern Uganda. The last rains were received around the first week of May.
Because the sub-region depends on seasonal crops, all crops planted in early May, including maize, have completely dried up.
The government, through Operation Wealth Creation [OWC], has secured seeds to be supplied before the end of this month, July, so that when the first rains come in August, people will be ready with planting materials.
According to OPM, approximately 600,000 vulnerable individuals are currently facing acute hunger and starvation in the area.
Speaking at the handover, the outgoing president, Lion Kwesiga Rosbell Tumusiime, outlined some of the achievements of the past year.
“We’ve been able to pay our dues on time. The discipline in the club is very good, and more members even those we would say are from abroad are willing to be part of us,” she said.
She added: “We have done a lot of service activities in the community. We have served in cancer, diabetes, and environment. We have given food to the hungry and we have treated the sick, so we have achieved a lot.”
“Our vision moving forward, as we step into this new Lionistic year, is to expand our outreach and, where possible, sponsor a Lions club in Katerera,” Tumusiime said.
She added: “I would also, in my Lionistic year, intend to establish a platform in Kampala where members of the club who reside in Kampala can converge at least once a month and promote the agenda of our local club, which I am going to call the Lions Club of Rubirizi Kampala Chapter.”
Tumusiime, who serves as Director of Socio-Economic Monitoring and Research in the Office of the President, pledged to increase the visibility of the local club, solidify its community footprint, and promote the district governor’s agenda, among other priorities.