KARAMOJA MPS SHY AWAY AS ROADS ROT, EBOLA WILL KILL US ALL



Travellers stuck near Nakichumet along Moroto -Soroti road   

The subject of Karamoja roads again grabbed space in the media this week. The scoop was hauled out from the popular Moroto -Soroti road.  As I wrote here last week, travelling on this road has indeed become a nightmare.  NTV Uganda screened the story so the whole world got to know it and for me, it was wrong anticipation that Karamoja MPs would the next day go walk their statements of two months ago. I feared that the legislators would run straight for their divorce promise with the government whom they had blamed of being pigheaded on issues of roads and other essentials for the region.

Now unless am wrong; no parliamentary representative has so far made any noise on the media this time round. This is despite the over 20 vehicles that are stuck, blocked the road. Despite the fact that Moroto town has run short of food supplies like bananas, tomatoes and bread coming from Mbale. Also, children coming home for holidays from other town schools are being overcharged on transport and fuel exhausted from all stations in Moroto. Instead it was the RDC that raised concern this time through.

No speculations here, we all remember the government had called on the bulls who were trying to ‘let the dogs out’, and asked them to assure ‘people’ that some quick money would be borrowed from somewhere for immediate tarmacking of Moroto –Soroti road among other roads in Karamoja. We cannot tell if they were also told to keep quiet about the issue, or were they given something that makes one automatically stop talking about things that need to be talked about? All that is happening now is that they are not talking about this at media level, but may be when they are with individual electorates they might say exactly what they were told to be telling the ‘people’.

Well, am not trying to blame our hard working members of parliament, I just expected some other MPs to take on the debate, while key ones are still engaged. The truth is it has always been Moroto Municipality MP Simon Peter Rock Aleper (ASPRO) and the Matheniko representative Hon. John Baptist Lokii at the forefront of all struggles for Karamoja in the ninth parliament but, believe you me they seem to be very busy currently.

The duo had foreign trips with the president and possibly they are still working on some issues of international interest. ASPRO accompanied the big man to Ethiopia and JB was notified that he would fly with the same boss to Washington. Now let us not think that these guys have probably been compromised because of such important travel arrangements with them, let’s just believe that they are busy compiling reports needed for international affairs. But we should pray that they get back soon to the dance they opened for us...Please ASPRO and JB don’t leave us alone, come back home soon, very soon!

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Then there is this Ebola outbreak that came from western Uganda. It has already eaten people from the city and other places.  By blog time, about 16 people were already reported dead. Health experts say we shouldn’t shake hands as contact with affected people is one way the Ebola can spread. We should pray let this disease not come to Karamoja. Yesterday I passed Ebola news to the community I work with in the field and people cannot take it seriously. They took me for a town joker!

In Karamoja no one will be happy with you if you greeted them verbally. The culture of hand shaking is so strong. An old man said “emam edeke iriamuni yong ka akimala...” He was serious and said it with all the body language. That, “there is no disease one can get through greeting”. Now what shall we tell our traditional people? I know the genuine thing to do is for the District Health Officers (DHOs) to do some surveillance and sensitisation on Ebola as soon as possible. Are they doing it already? If not why can’t they start?

They can do a radio announcement, or send teams to all settlements so the people can be made aware of this killer disease and can try to adjust on some practices that can let us catch Ebola. Churches, schools, market settings and the like would be targeted with powerful messages to keep people alert. Otherwise Ebola will simply kill us all...