As the 42-day-lockdown comes to an end, some members on the Nwoya District Covid-19 Taskforce say they have encountered multifaceted challenges while trying to enforce it.
The District Internal Security Officer (DISO), Sam Okumu, says some people were not cooperative in observing the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to stem the transmission of the disease.
He says as many as everywhere in the district were operating trans-night bars, video halls, motorcycle taxi drivers commonly known as boda-boda riders were also carrying passengers instead of the mandated cargo and other social places were operating like it was normal.
“People in our district were no longer observing the standard operating procedures as you could find bars operating trans night and other social places like video halls were back to normal and that was already a sign that Nwoya was bound to explode with COVID-19 cases, boda-boda riders still kept on defying the guidance to carry only cargo as they were often arrested with passengers as others successfully dodged our roadblocks,” Mr Okumu said.
However, the DISO says anybody who was found defying the directives were arrested and charged accordingly including paying fines though the errant ones still continued.
Geoffrey Axuma, the Nwoya district information officer says money was also a challenge as they had to follow the bureaucratic procedures to access it yet it was needed soon given the emergency of operations that required immediate action in enforcing the SOPs.
“Finance was our biggest challenge because in the previous lockdown, we received both financial and material support from the organisations, well-wishers and individual people. But this time round, things were hard and, thus, making work so difficult. Although we received some financial support of about Shs150m from the government recently, still we could not access it due to other strings attached yet all need to be followed,” Mr Axuma said.
The lockdown that ends today, was imposed on 18 last month and President Yoweri Museveni Tibuhaburwa is scheduled to address the nation on the next move tomorrow Friday, July 30, 2021, at 8pm.
