Taxis, Buses To Resume Operation From 2nd June – Museveni

The president of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on 18th May addressed Ugandans on the easing of the pandemic lockdown, he announced new guidelines and some of which will take effect on 2^nd June 2020.

The strategy of the lockdown has helped us to have a rough idea of where the enemy is coming from and also to prepare better. The lockdown has saved us from getting big numbers of infections. These 227 of people getting infected is just nothing. In some other countries, hundreds of people are dying every day; not just being sick but dying. In some countries it even reached 1,000 deaths per day. Here, after three months, you have only 227 people who are infected, 63 who have healed and no one has died. It seems you people don’t know how to pray. If you don’t know how to pray, I will teach you because I used to be a head of the scripture union,’said Museveni.

When we allowed the drivers to keep coming, it was a calculated risk. Why? We need that cargo to survive, but also to be prosperous. Much of the in-bound and outbound cargo is ours. We are not carrying other people’s cargo. It’s our coffee going to Mumbasa. 75% of the cargo which come into Uganda are for Uganda. It’s only 25 % which is for other inland countries like Burundi, South Sudan and etc.The cargo comprises of our coffee, tea, cement, steel bars, sugar, maize, milk products going to external markets. It’s also our machinery because we’re buying machinery,’he said.

Machinery does not come by post office, email. It comes by cargo, by these lorries. Raw materials like plastics, our defence weapons, you cannot tell me to leave our guns. Our medical products, petrol… these are all coming from out. We should not block cargo

Since the truck drivers and their employers seem not to be bothered about the concerns of Ugandans, we shall now not allow any driver to enter Uganda or to leave the country until their test results have been received

The medium term better solution is to shift most of the cargo from the lorry to the railways between Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania which have railway networks that could be revamped. The rest will have to continue with lorries. The other alternative is Joint regional health teams testing these drivers at respective points of origin twice a month so they don’t have to stop at the border

Without handling cargo you will fail. You may avoid death for a short time but it will come back. We’ve lost $1.6b from our tourism, we may lose $1.3b of remittances from abroad. Therefore, we cannot lose Forex from coffee, cement, tea, milk and cotton etc in addition to failing to failing to bring in raw materials used in manufacturing. That’s a wrong debate. The debate should not be on whether the cargo drivers should come in and out. It should be on how they can be managed

Museveni: Our strategy is to avoid sickness and survive as a country that can function in normal ways of a semi modern or modern country. The NRM way is some of us may die but we must win. You can’t say, if we all die we die & also fail. It is sacrifice leading to victory

 Museveni: Apart from identifying the three major enemy entry points, we are now more prepared, because we have prepared treatment centres in Naguru, Lira, Soroti, Mbarara, Fort Portal, Mubende, Entebbe and Arua

People with private cars will be allowed to drive as long as the car doesn’t carry more than three people “Three people includes the driver. This will require you to wear a proper mask,” Mr Museveni said

Taxis and buses will also be allowed to operate from 2nd June provided they carry 5o percent capacity and all their face mask properly worn,’museveni added.

Check also;

• President Museveni Eases Lockdown
• Nurses Demand Risk Allowance During Covid-19 Lockdown
• Landlord Evicts Children Of Father Stranded Upcountry Due To Lockdown

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