30 November 2007
editorial
The Food and Agricultural Organisation has warned of an imminent invasion of the destructive desert locusts. The pests are said to be low density but mature and in the process of laying eggs on the borders of Ethiopia and Somalia. The pests are said to have already started hitting northern Kenya, which makes Uganda not any safe.
Since they are now laying eggs, it means soon the current small swarms will swell in numerical strength when the eggs hatch. The pests are said to be fast with capacity to cover hundreds of miles in a day and can destroy crops and vegetation, occasioning hunger.
The Uganda government and especially the Ministry of Disaster Preparedness should be on red alert to avert the looming pest attack and its dire effects. The government should take the warning seriously and act promptly. It should not wait for the pests to strike in order to act. There should be pre-emptive measures to avert the disaster. The government should mobilise funds for the emergency early enough.
It should not wait until it's late and start panicking like was the case when the floods hit northern and eastern Uganda about two months ago. The meteorologists had warned of the floods earlier but the government did not heed the warning or at least did not do any preparations. The devastating floods swept the country killing dozens of people and displacing thousands of people and destroying their property.
Uganda may be overstretched in terms of logical resources in responding to the locust threat. But this is not just a national threat. It is an international disaster and therefore Uganda should liaise with all the countries in the region that face the same threat and international agencies as well.
Such a regional effort should be able to aggregate resources to tackle the challenge. Planes can be chartered to spray the locusts before they inflict irreversible damage. Their breeding grounds should be traced and destroyed by chemical spraying to kill the eggs before they hatch.
On this same page, it was argued when the floods hit the north and east of the country, that the government should set up an annual emergency fund to cater for such national disasters. And the same argument is herein reiterated. A country's readiness or capacity to handle catastrophes is not measured in just appointment of a ministry in charge of disaster preparedness, but in the logistical and human resource strength to respond to the emergency expeditiously and efficiently.
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