The National Economic Empowerment Dialogue (NEED) leader Joseph Kabuleta has claimed that President Yoweri Museveni together with the Ministry of Health are planning another 21 day lockdown in the name of curbing the third wave of Covid-19.
Kabuleta says in order to fulfill their plans, the President and the Ministry have already paid media houses and some social media influencers to do relentless Covid-19 reporting starting today December 27th and this will make it look like the former have no choice apart from locking the country again.
“And the ministry will continue churning out their fake numbers showing a steep rise in Omicron numbers.That will inevitably be followed by uncertainty as the population starts wondering what’s next,” the former presidential candidate said on Sunday.
“Then the stage will be set for his Eminence Archbishop Museveni to schedule another national address where he’ll act like he was ready to reopen the economy but, under the circumstances, he has no choice but to lockdown the country for a further 21 days,” he added.
Yesterday, the Deputy Senior Presidential Press Secretary Faruk Kirunda revealed that President Museveni will today Monday 27th December, 2021 receive the current status report on the Covid-19 situation in Uganda.
Kirunda said the report will be handed over to the President by the National Covid-19 Taskforce led by the Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja.
“The report will inform the way forward on full reopening of the economy ,”Kirunda said in a tweet on Sunday.
The development comes at a time when Uganda’s Covid-19 cases are surging. And according to results released on 26 December, the country registered 1,116 cases of the virus.
The cases started spiking in mid December and there’s fear among Ugandans that in case the trend persists, the schools and economy may not be fully reopened as earlier planned.
President Museveni in October this year announced that schools would reopen in January 2022, two years after they were closed.
In a televised address, Museveni said the general economy will also be opened at the start of next year.
He urged the citizens to observe Covid-19 safety measures to avert a surge in infections.
“Even if you don’t come out for vaccination, we will open the schools and the economy and if anything goes wrong, the moral responsibility is yours,” said the President.
Following Museveni’s directive, the Ministry of Education and Sports a few days ago announced that all schools will officially reopen on 10th January, 2022.
See Kabuleta’s statement:
I have reliably learnt that the Archbishop of COVID religion in Uganda, and his clerics at Ministry of Health are planning another 21-day lockdown mbu to curb the third wave.
While they pretend like they’re resigned to the prospect of a full reopening (how the dread it), the truth is that media houses and some social media influencers (or influenzas) have already received money to do relentless COVID reporting starting tomorrow December 27th. I could mention them, but I don’t have to. You will see them.
And the ministry will continue churning out their fake numbers showing a steep rise in Omicron numbers.
That will inevitably be followed by uncertainty as the population starts wondering what’s next.
Then the stage will be set for his Eminence Archbishop Museveni to schedule another national address where he’ll act like he was ready to reopen the economy but, under the circumstances, he has no choice but to lockdown the country for a further 21 days.
And just like that, suffering Ugandans will be looking at a third dead year, even as Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi continue enjoying the benefits of an open economy.
From the onset of his presidency, Museveni set out to polarize and pauperize Ugandans. COVID has made that task so much easier. That’s why it has become the official NRM ideology. They won’t let it go without a fight.
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