KAMPALA – Opposition lynchpin Dr Kizza Besigye has lashed out at the government to instituting a lockdown over coronavirus without having a clear economic framework for the people.
For close to six weeks, Uganda has been under lockdown and Dr Besigye said while this is a good strategy to prevent the spread of disease, the approach has been disastrous.
“We must reduce the rate at which COVID19 spreads. I called for a lockdown a week before it was instituted. The hygienic measures one needs could have been intensified if we were better organized. You need a legal and institutional framework that helps you manage a pandemic. In our case, this has been disastrous,” he said during an interview on NBS TV on Wednesday, May 6.
“How do you lock down an economy without a legal framework in the whole country? If you imprison me you must feed me, people in my village here where I stay are dying of hunger, they need food to eat,” he added.
Many individuals and companies have been donating towards the Covid-19 response but Dr Besigye said that he does not trust the government on putting to use what they have collected.
“I will not donate to things to a government I do not trust. We should have a legal and institutional framework everyone trusts and relates to. Ugandans are very generous people except that they have nothing to give. What you are seeing now as giving must be questioned. A lot of it is some form of corruption, they are buying favour,” he added.
The four-time presidential candidate also accused President Museveni of playing politics in the Shs10b allocated to MPs for fighting coronavirus.
President Museveni criticized the MPs for allocating themselves state resources but Dr Besigye said that the Head of State is the one guilty of misusing taxpayer’s money. He said that the President took more money under State House, which was not called for.
“Museveni pricked the problem by attacking the MPs, when he realized that things were about to explode in his face, he is now calling MPS to talk to them. He must must return 1.3 trillion that he took during COVID 19 period and MPs must bring back 20 million that was given to each of them.”