Moses Nampala
8 July 2009
Kampala — RESIDENTS of Tororo district have appealed to the Government to intervene and provide relief aid as starvation looms.
The sub-counties of Kisoko, Iyolwa, Nabuyoga and Mella have been hit by famine following hailstorms and prolonged drought in the last harvest season that destroyed crops.
The other 15 sub-counties in the district are also at risk of famine.
The district secretary for production, John Emokol, said many families now survive on wild plants and cassava flour which is becoming scarce. Some families have resorted to stealing food.
"Reports of grain theft are on the rise in the district. Many families outside the famine-hit area have had their sorghum and millet granaries emptied in the night by unknown people," said Emokol.
The thefts, Emokol added, are rife in the sub-counties of Merikit, Paya, Peta and Mukujju. Shop owners in the Merikit and Paya trading centres have not been spared by the looming famine as their stocks of food and other items have been looted. Emokol said the district authorities had informed the disaster preparedness and relief ministry, sent officials to assess the situation. "They promised to help over 250 families, but we have never heard from them since," a distraught Emokol said.
He said he was working with the district agricultural officer to verify the number of families affected by the famine so that they can approach the Government for assistance.
"The Government ought to come to the aid of its people because the situation in Tororo is increasingly becoming deplorable," said Emokol. "We had planned wisely but all the food we thought would take us through these difficult times has been stolen," Eliphazi Okecho lamented.
In the most affected sub-county of Kisoko, families are missing regular meals and surviving on mangoes and wild plants. The Kisoko parish secretary for production, James Oboth, said the hardest-hit areas include Makawaki, Dida, Kakobi and Pepei zones.
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Where is the UN ? If it was an outbreak of N1H1 flu the World Health Organization, WHO, would be there selling Tamaflu for the Swiss Pharmaceuticals, where huge and real profits margins are to be made, unlike dealing in food which have near nonexistent profit margins.
It is hypocritical, shameful, selfish and greedy on the part of the world community to watch Africans die of hunger when they have food rotting in their countries.
Food is CHEAP and there is no excuse of having some people going hungry and starving while across socalled borders there are people dying of obesity and over-eating.