“The distribution of hoes to the communities as promised by President Museveni has divided members of Parliament with sections of the legislators saying it will cost them votes in 2021” (NBS Television 18.10.2019).
On the 20th November 2015 before the General Election and within the campaign period, the President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni ordered the Prime Minister and his office to purchase 18 million hoes to 6 million households. With the estimate of 44,700,000 population in the republic and the Uganda Bureau of Statistics Household Survey of 2016/17 said the average amount of people a household was about 5. This means statistically, that there are about 8,940,000 households. This is mere numbers and not the whole package, but it gives you feeling of how many.
Therefore, when the MPs are complaining, the OPM have surely not bought all the promised 18 million hoes. Because, that mean most of them would have been covered, just nearly 3 million household without any. However, there must be short-fall in the amount, as the state cannot deliver to enough regions or district to matter. That is why the MPs are afraid of this.
I can ask like Jajja did in November 2015: “What happened?”.
Because, that this story continues to haunt us in 2019. On the stages and preparations for rallies in 2020 for the General Election in 2021. Surely, this is pure fiction, but sadly our reality. As the Devine powers doesn’t want things to work or succeed. It is a repetition of the mediocre and lazy, lackluster approach to governing. Which is staple with the National Resistance Movement. The party that promise middle-income status and steady progress. But cannot even drop some promised tool on the population.
Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda has had 4 years to deliver 18 millions hoes and still hasn’t finished the task. There been four budgets and four planning stages. Still, it seems like it needs a fifth to get to the finish line. Even with this, there will not hoes for every household nor all families who needs them. As the statistics are not counting the ones living single, the one who has their left the nest and so-on. Therefore, the statistics is lying a bit and just giving a feeling of the state of affairs.
The President and PM has failed. They can come with arguments, but we should ask them: “What Happened?”. Peace.
MinBane 