‘Food vlogger’ Museveni: Do not let it go to waste

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has been addressing concerns about the portions of food relief provided to help people deal with fallout from the coronavirus lockdown.

In theory, every household in need should have got 6kg of the staple maize meal (or posho as it is known in Uganda) per person and 3kg of beans per person.

The food is meant for the urban poor who’ve lost jobs and income because of the lockdown, reports the BBC’s Patience Atuhaire in the capital, Kampala.

A film on the president’s Twitter account shows him cutting and weighing out cooked posho.

He announces to an audience of officials that 250g is enough for one person each day.

In later tweets, the president said that the relief food should give you “enough calories to enable you to considerably survive for quite some time” adding that it “should not be consumed wastefully”.

But how much time? Is the question.

By the president’s figures, 6kg of posho will last one person 24 days.

The problem is that the lockdown has now gone on for nearly 50 days.

As a result, there have been complaints that the relief is not reaching everyone and it is not enough.

Ugandan Minister Peter Ogwang has tweeted that 1.3 million Ugandans have now received the aid and more is being distributed.

Mr Museveni is expected to announce this week whether or not the lockdown will be extended.

The ministry of health says the country has 248 confirmed cases of coronavirus and no deaths.