Tamale Mirundi: All East African countries knew the locusts were coming, but concerned people were reluctant to begin preparations
Former presidential advisor, Tamale Mirundi has highlighted the loopholes in government’s claim towards locust invasion in Karamoja insisting that all visual images and pictures displayed both online and television stations were not captured from the area.
‘’If the locusts were in Karamoja we would be having pictures of children chasing them. The pictures we have are not from Karamoja, where do you find Karamoja without cows,’’ Tamale Mirundi implied on Tuesday’s morning NBS TV’s show termed ‘One on One with Mirundi’
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Last week, the government confirmed to the public that the locusts had invaded the northern part of Uganda notably, in Amudat and Karamoja and since then the number has been reported on the rise.
Yesterday, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) flew pesticides carrying pumps, pesticides and other protective gear to the region to help in the fight of the insects.
However, Tamale Mirundi who was first to criticise government’s delay towards handling the dangerous locust said that all East African countries knew about one year back that the insects were coming.
Mirundi insisted that these are not preventive measures because the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) had earlier informed them.
He added that individuals and organizations concerned were reluctant to begin preparations because they know that President Museveni seems to release money quickly in times of crisis.
‘’All East African countries knew the locusts were coming. FAO released information about how dangerous these locusts are one year back but they still waited because they know President Museveni will only release money in times of crisis,’’ Mirundi added.
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Meanwhile, he warned all individuals particularly those working for government organizations to understand that there will be another government after NRM.
‘’Some people are mindless, they seem not to understand that there will be another government after this one.’’
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About Desert Locusts
The desert locust known as Schistocerca gregaria is locally referred to as emaathe, enzige and is a short-horned grasshopper in the Acrididae family.
These locusts according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), are considered to be one of the most dangerous of flying pests.
Besides its ability to fly long distances allowing it to migrate quickly, a swarm of only one square kilometre can gather nearly 80 million locusts, each one devouring the equivalent of its weight (2 grams) per day.
Being herbivorous, the locust can also stay in one place for 17 hours and if strong enough, can range 3000 miles in their lifetime and an average of 50-300km per day.
Also, FAO says these locusts can live for up to five months, depending on weather and local conditions. They can lay eggs that can hatch after two weeks, with locusts maturing to adulthood in two to four months on average.
Relatively, they can destroy about 192 million kilogrammes of vegetation in two days.
Locusts can multiply 10-20 times per generation and an adult female will lay up to 900 eggs in three months.
By John Dalton Kigozi
