Editorial View: After Locusts and Covid-19, another Goldmine Emerges in Form of Army Worms in Our Gardens!

In Uganda’s case, every bad occurrence is treated as a goldmine by thieves in government and outside it. Some people sugarcoat them as `mafias`!

For example, you must have heard of millions of cash- some mobilized from good people locally and the rest from outside the country, which was intended to stem Covid-19, but which ended up in the abnormally huge stomachs of these thieves.

You must also be recalling the millions of money released to fight locusts but which ended up being pinched by people who were aptly baptized as `locusts in smart suits!`

We are such terrible thieves that we even steal condolence cash meant for organizing vigils and burials! We are so daring that given a chance, we don’t even spare such kind of cash donated by the big-man-wearing-a-hat himself!

So much money meant for such bad occurrences and near plagues as the foregone ones, has been lost to thieves, that it’s really impossible for one to quickly add up the funds in just a few hours.

Writing from that experience, one gets all the fear available to be feared, now that African Armyworms, also known as Spondoptera Exampta scientifically, have visited our gardens! So far, the dangerous insects have been reported in 40 Districts where, they are threatening livelihoods. The fear is that the money budgeted to fight these insects might end up being diverted.

Much as one can hope and pray that now the no-nonsense Prime Minister in Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja is in charge of government business, she watches each and every coin being dished out to fight the locusts, so that at least a big percentage of the same is saved from being diverted. That’s just a prayer against prayer.

Nabbanja has already briefed the country about the liters of drugs purchased so far, to spray and kill off the insects in town. We are holding on hope that the fluids aren’t fake just as some Covid-19 jabs turned out to be useless water for the objective they had been purchased for!

The concerned ministry is telling us as well how the people who are going to spray the insects need protective gears to effectively do the job. No problem, provided the protective gears are going to actually be purchased! Recalling that money was released to buy protective gears for our medics who were treating Covid-19, only for the same not to be adequately procured! You could have heard of some of our heroic medics who died merely because they lacked protective gear!

As Nabbanja issues the cash to do this and that in the fight to get rid of army worms, we invite her to critically watch the procurement bit. For it is here, that a lot of money end up exchanging hands yielding purchases that do not match the monetary value invested in them.

Nabbanja has been around Uganda for some good years to understand how fake things are purchased by those entrusted with procurement. She must also have read or heard about reports upon reports from the Auditor General, questioning procurements that do not match the quality anticipated as well as cash invested in them. So, she ought to remain alert and steady, lest the thieves end up breaking loose with the cash meant for fighting army worms while she goes to sleep, or so, we authoritatively guess.