Emergency food relief for drought-hit communities in Karamoja will now be distributed by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) and the Uganda Prisons Service after President Yoweri Museveni directed the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) to stop relying on private contractors for the exercise.
The change comes less than a week after the government flagged off the distribution of 552 tonnes of maize flour and 238 tonnes of beans to the worst-hit districts in the sub-region under a Shs45 billion emergency intervention approved by the President. The first phase of the relief operation targets the districts of Kaabong, Kotido, Moroto, Karenga and Nabilatuk, where prolonged drought has left thousands of households without food.
Speaking in Rubirizi District, Beatrice Akori Akello, the Minister of State for Northern Uganda under the Office of the Prime Minister, said Museveni directed the ministry to work with the UPDF and Uganda Prisons Service, arguing that the two institutions have the capacity and food stocks to deliver relief more efficiently than the suppliers previously contracted by the OPM. “I want to thank the President for his wise guidance. This time we are not using contractors. He argued that we should not rely on the suppliers that OPM has procured. We should rely on the UPDF and the Prisons, who have a good amount of food with them. OPM has signed a memorandum of understanding, and NEC and the Prisons are the ones supplying this food,” Akori said.
She said the Office of the Prime Minister would retain its supervisory role to ensure the food reaches the intended beneficiaries. “Our work is to monitor the delivery of this food until it reaches the local governments. From there, the local governments will take over. We have directed that the food be delivered directly to sub-county headquarters to avoid delays and mishandling. I am optimistic that the food will reach the intended beneficiaries,” she said.
Akori added that the government is also pursuing longer-term interventions to improve food security in Karamoja through the four-acre model and the distribution of planting materials. She said Operation Wealth Creation has secured seeds that will be supplied before the end of July to enable farmers to plant as soon as the anticipated rains begin in August. Karamoja is experiencing one of its worst droughts in recent years after rains failed shortly after the first week of May, causing widespread crop failure. According to the Office of the Prime Minister, about 600,000 vulnerable people in the sub-region are facing acute hunger and require emergency food assistance-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
