The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The “People’s government” has halted its Emergency Care Programme that was launched on Monday citing the ban on the movement of private vehicles.
On Monday, the opposition group launched the Emergency Care Programme with the aim of linking expectant mothers, Persons with Disabilities, sick children and the elderly to care during the COVID-19 lock down announced by President, Yoweri Museveni.
The program was expected to provide ambulance services using private vehicles to those in need around Kampala. However, the Group’s Health Minister, Dr. George Ekwaro told Uganda Radio Network on Tuesday afternoon that they had resolved to halt the campaign because of the ban on private vehicle for fear of impounding their vehicles.
Ekwaro, who says they had prepared hundreds of cars for this exercise, notes that even as they didn’t work on Tuesday, they continued receiving calls from people in need of help.
In his televised address on Monday night, Museveni announced a complete lockdown on transport and non-food business. He claimed that the opposition had resorted to politicising the response against the acute respiratory infection yet it’s a public health emergency.
He said members of the opposition are attracting people around them as they offer help going against the prevention technique for social distancing.
Police Spokesperson, Fred Enanga had told journalists earlier in the day that members of the People’s government led by Rtd Col Dr. Kizza Besigye were picking sick people and abandoning them without help all in the name of gaining political clout.
Ekwaro says they will resume the service after discussing how exactly they are to move on without going against the Ministry of Health’s and Museveni’s new guidelines.
He says they are using professionals to handle ambulance services and that they had resolved to use unbranded vehicles, a reason as to why Police couldn’t easily hunt them down yesterday.
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