A lot of Ugandans rely on the media, the radios, the TVs as the most accurate sources of information but if the situation gets bizarre, such an impasse would no longer be a hallucination but rather clarity that history repeats itself!

It’s a Friday afternoon and as family, we don’t stop arguing about how boring Easter will be this time round. Minutes later; am pushed into discussing the History of Modern Europe for my cousin Alice, who for sure enjoys every bit of her introductory part of the subject but mostly she seeks to understand the 1789 French Revolution.

Two years from hi school is a long time to hardly remember everything that there is for her to know! ” Let me first read through this book,” I told her as I opened Denis Richard’s seventh edition of the History of Modern Europe. I read with as much passion as I loved the subject reminiscing through the tyranny the French people surpassed then. I then came across a question about the role of the philosophers and third estate to the upside of the revolution. Voltaire; one of the philosophers wrote, ” What is the Third Estate? Everything. What has it been hitherto in our form of government? Nothing. What does it want? To be something. ” The words were so awakening and got me attached to writing about the state of our press here in Uganda.

Such is a very dangerous and unprecedented time when a lot that has been going on below the booth got to be uncovered. From the lots of faults, errors and grievances from people from all sorts of people even those that we least expected; The Press. On one of his shows, the president of the Uganda Journalists Association(UJA), Mr.Kazibwe Bashir Mbaziira asked a fundamental yet intriguing question; ” Imagine if all media, the Television stations, radio stations and certainly the newspapers shut down because they have no sources of income, no funds. There’s a lot that is going on! Our role is essential but not getting the recognition it deserves…” he said.

Bold, accurate, reliable, balanced are values of one of the leading media platforms in Uganda but how shall these platforms execute and present the bold and balanced news if the over 13 billion Uganda shillings Uganda Communications Commission(UCC) and Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) owe the different media is not pardoned in a time when they don’t have inflows? Or certainly how shall the news be reliable enough when the national television UBC Uganda has right over who gets spectrum?

Excluding the destitute; though in pain, a lot of Ugandans rely on the media,the radios,the TVs as the most accurate sources of information but if the situation gets bizarre, such an impasse would no longer be a hallucination but rather clarity that history repeats itself!

The Parliament of Uganda has called for equal distribution of food to vulnerable communities of Uganda.

The office of the prime minister had approved distribution of food to vulnerable communities in the areas of Kampala and Wakiso District. However the Ugandan Parliament saying that the relief should be given nation wide.

According to Speaker Rebecca Kadaga and several Members of Parliament, the impact of the government measures is being felt nationwide and therefore food distribution should not be restricted to only two districts.

The food distribution exercise that was scheduled to start on Saturday 4th April 2020. In this exercise food was to be distributed at the LCI offices. The LC’s chairpersons were to be supported by the Uganda Police and the UPDF for purposes of transparency and avoiding crowds.

The relief package include maize flour, beans and salt. Each head was set to receive 6 kilogrammes of Maize and 3 kilogrammes of Beans. In addition, lactating mothers and the sick are to receive 2kg of powdered milk and 2kg of sugar.

MPS Reject the Distribution of Food to the Urban Poor

During the parliamentary seating, the house established that vulnerable Ugandans do not live in the areas of Kampala and Wakiso alone. Therefore there is need to distribute food to vulnerable people across Uganda.

Ronny Ayoo, Kwania County MP pointed out that the lockdown is affecting everyone across the country and wondered why priority is being given to residents of Kampala Metropolitan Area.

Some MPs also demanded a more structured payout system for all the needy across the country. They advised the government to distribute money to people via Mobile Money to enable them buy their own food.

The Prime Minister, Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda’s attempted to explain that the government was distributing the food under an emergency plan but all his efforts fell on deaf ears.