By Keefa Nuwahereza
His Excellency President Yoweri Museveni has Wednesday appointed Mary Karooro Okurut, the Minister in Charge of General Duties in the Office of the Prime Minister, to head government’s COVID-19 Fundraising Drive.
Minister Karooro will be assisted by Dorothy Kisaka, the senior advisor on governance in the Office of Prime Minister.
Prime minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda announced the presidential appointees on Tuesday April, 8, 2020 as he launched a covid-19 national response fundraising drive aimed at mobilising resources and funds to boost the coronavirus fight in the country.
“A number of people have been asking where they can channel the resources they would want to contribute. We want to have clarity in government as to how this will be done. We want to help government officials, especially those at the frontline of the fight against COVID-19, to concentrate on the tasks they are supposed to be performing,” Dr Rugunda said.
He noted that Okurut is tasked with ensuring that the fundraising efforts are not mismanaged and that people have confidence to make contributions with an assurance the funds it will be used for the intended purpose.
He also announced that a bank account has been opened up in Stanbic Bank where contributions can be deposited.
At
the same event, OPM received more contributions, including Shs200m from Tororo
Cement, Shs200m and a pickup vehicle from the Indian Association, Shs100m from
Buganda Kingdom, and four tonnes of flour from the Presidential Initiative on
Banana Industrial Development.
He is optimistic that with collective support, Coronavirus shall be defeated in Uganda. Rugunda revealed that so far over Shs2Bn worth of cash and relief items have been donated to Uganda by well-wishers both within and without the country.
Globally a COVID-19 solidarity response fund has since been opened up by the WHO and its partners for people and organizations who want to help fight the pandemic.
“We want to give more time to the Minister of Health Dr Jane Ruth Aceng and her team to concentrate more in the field than in mobilisation of resources since there are already a number of people who can handle this responsibility,” he said.