The pastoralists who started fleeing the district last week to the South Sudan border are concerned that the presence of UPDF soldiers in the district has done nothing to contain the situation.
Reagan Komakech, a Boda –Boda Rider in Gulu City borrowed a motorcycle loan and has been paying a weekly amount of 70,000 for the last one year and two months. According to Komakech, he is still left with over 2 million shillings to complete the loan but unable to raise the required 70,000 shillings during the lockdown.
The Resident District Commissioner-RDC, Jolly Tibemanya says that the decision was prompted by the increase in COVID-19 cases and reluctance among the public to follow the Standard Operating Procedures- SOPs.
Richard Mugisha, deputy city clerk says during the planning of these markets they had not considered that people would ever need to use the available washrooms around the clock but due to the current disaster they have to rethink and plan again. He says the same challenge has been reported in the other markets where also toilets are filling up.
The Luwero District LC 5 Chairman, Erastus Kibirango was the chief mediator between the two groups. However, when the Kibuli group and Nadduli turned up at his office for renewal of the talks before the tour, Kibirango informed them that he had pulled out after getting a letter asking him to stop meddling in Muslim affairs.
Agricultural production slightly fell but remained strong unlike other sectors like tourism, hospitality, transport and education, some of which almost came to a halt.
According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, agriculture, which is the source of livelihood to two-thirds of Ugandans, contributed 23.7% in the financial year 2020/2021, compared to 23.9% in the previous year.
Paul Salabwa, the Kikyuusa Town Council LC 3 Chairperson told URB that he was in support of the vendors relocating from the streets. According to Salabwa, he was also concerned about the poor social distance and lack of proper toilets for the vendors.
