President Yoweri Museveni has threatened to import food, especially beans, if suppliers continue withholding them.
The president says he got information that some business people are hording food to sell at a higher price. He says if they can’t get food at the allocated UGX 50bn locally, they will buy cheaper food from Mexico and other countries.
“I heard that there are some suppliers that are trying to keep the beans so that the prices can go up. I really don’t like selfish people, if I hear that there is not enough maize or beans because people are withholding it from the market, they are hoarding it, then I will import. I will just get a whisper that the food is not enough, I will just import and forget about you, because you are crooks trying to take advantage of your people” he threatened.
Adding that “people are dying for food, you are hoarding it. Sorry, we are going to import and those things of yours will rot in your stores. You think you will hoard to get profits, you will end up with rotten things. Because I will import cheaper food from Mexico…too bad for you. So please, no games. Namanyila entalo, omulabe bwayita wano, nange mpita wali. So I’m warning you, any whisper that the food is not enough, then we import. These billions of money, I give it to the foreigners” he warned.
The development comes after hon. Karoro Okrut told the nation that they have failed to find enough beans to buy and distribute during the lockdown.
At the start of the lockdown in March, President Museveni announced that his government would distribute food to people, especially those who spend from pocket to mouth every day. These include; Taxi Drivers, Boda Boda Riders, Salon operators, bar workers among others, whose daily income was affected by the lock down which has since been extended for 21 more days.
Meanwhile, the President has directed the minister for relief and disaster preparedness Musa Ecweru to deal with, and sort out the issue with the relief food. He noted that where people have not received salt because it is not enough, families should buy themselves.
On the issue of bad food which was initially distributed around Kampala, the president said he deployed ministers to monitor closely the issue. He says Ecweru must form his own forum and follow up on the issues.
