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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The exclusion of district leaders from the distribution of relief food in Wakiso district has sparked off misunderstandings with local leaders insisting that it may result in fraud.
The government is distributing food to families whose livelihood was disrupted by the lockdown implemented as one of the measures to control the spread of coronavirus– COVID-19. Each family member is receiving six kilograms of maize flour and three kilograms of beans. Lactating mothers and pregnant women are also getting powdered milk and sugar.
However, the process is implemented by the National COVID-19 Task Force, supported by a team from the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces-UPDF, the Uganda Red Cross Society and village council chairpersons.
But Wakiso district leaders say that whereas the involvement of village chairpersons in the exercise is important, they have little control over the army officers who are directly taking lead in the exercise. The Resident District Commissioner Rose Kirabira says that it even the district task force which oversees COVID-19 activities in the area was sidelined in the distribution.
Kirabira also questions why all families in Wakiso are receiving only maize flour and beans and questions what happened to the milk and sugar.
The RDC adds that some village chairpersons have intentionally omitted their residents and denied them chance to receive what they ought to receive because of their political differences.
Kirabira says she is lodging a formal notification to the Office of the Prime Minister to bring to raise the concern adding that the COVID-19 district task force will not be in position to include the food distribution exercise in its report.
Several residents have also indicated that they were denied access to sugar and milk despite falling within the bracket of those that qualify for it.
The district council speaker Simon Nsubuga also condemns the manner in which food is being distributed and the fact that the power to determine beneficiaries was left in the hands of the local council chairmen.
Nansana Municipality Deputy Mayor Kato Paul Yiga in an interview with Uganda Radio Network said that the exclusion of local leaders like division and municipality councilors in the exercise was erroneous.
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