President Yoweri Museveni may have to personally interfere or fly to Ssembabule district and speak to locals, if the Foot and Mouth Disease-FMD is to be successfully eliminated.
Sembabule district leaders are failing to enforce the cattle quarantine imposed by the Animal Husbandry Ministry imposed following the reported cases of the FMD.
This is due to altercation between the local leaders and security leaders as the former accused security officials of partially enforcing the quarantine. This even ended in the arrest and prosecution of the Lwemiyiga County MP, Theodore Ssekikubo for allegedly violating the quarantine when he led cattle farmers to reopen cattle markets.
The development prompted the State Minister in Charge of Animal Industry, Bright Rwamirama to convene a meeting on January 16th, 2020 to settle the misunderstanding.
It was during this meeting that Rwamirama instructed total enforcement of the quarantine for two weeks to allow for a comprehensive vaccination exercise against the FMD in the area, after which an assessment would be conducted for possible opening of all livestock markets.
However, even with the Minister’s directive, animals and their products are still finding their way to the market within and outside Sembabule district. Now, Jolly Kasande, the Mijwala Sub County Female LC V Councilor says they are afraid that the nonconformity to the quarantine restriction may escalate the spread of the virus in the area to the detriment of the residents.
It is due to this situation that Kasande suggested the direct intervention of the president to deploy a special team or even visit the area and help them overcome the challenge of the FMD in the area.
