Editorial
September 30, 2003
The World Food Programme has reported that the number of people displaced by the northeastern war has risen from 800,000 to 1.2 million over the past two months.
The UN humanitarian body says its ability to provide food and temporary shelter is currently overstretched. The displaced people depend entirely on the WFP for food supplies.
In desperation, the WFP is calling on the Ugandan government and other donors to come to their aid and help feed the internally displaced people in both November and December.
In all respects, WFP should not be the one asking the Ugandan government to come to their rescue in feeding the displaced. The displaced people are primarily the responsibility of the Ugandan government. WFP’s role ought to be merely supplementary.
Government should take this challenge seriously. In the next few days a crisis meeting should sit and tell the nation what they are offering to the displaced in response to WFP’s call.
We are talking about close to a million children and women facing starvation in their pathetic camps. As a nation, we urgently need to do something about this threat.
If government fails to come out with an action plan, Parliament should be able to halt other business and address this.
A few months back, Parliament was asked by government to cut 23 percent of the budget of other ministries to increase defence spending. Some people resisted, arguing that the money would after all not be put to good use. The increase in the number of displaced people is the best testimony that this increased spending on defence has not yielded expected results.
In the circumstances, both government and parliament must do something about the consequences of the above failure.
If we are willing to cut the spending of other sectors to increase defence spending, we should also be able to make similar budgetary cuts to feed our displaced.
It is simply sinful to talk of spending on education, Burundi peace initiatives or even education, when over one million Ugandans are starving.
© 2003 The Monitor Publications
