Museveni Donates Salary to Fight Covid19, Sets Stage for Ending Shutdown

President Yoweri Museveni yesterday donated half his salary to government to help in the fight against Covid19.

Museveni revealed during his 12^th national address on Tuesday evening that he earns Shs 3.6Million, which is received every month by his wife Janet.

Of this, he said, 20% always goes to his party, the National Resistance Movement.

As such, he said, the remainder (2.7Million) should be split and one half sent to the National Covid19 Task Force.

“Here and now, the other remaining Shs 2.7Million I will tell Janet to accept 1.4Million; I will instruct her …because she is the one who receives that money, to sign 1.4 to the fund,” Museveni announced.

His decision was prompted by one member of the public, who asked during the pre-recorded question time of the address, why Ugandan civil servants had not donated their earnings to the Covid19 fight as has been the case in other countries.

Government leaders in countries like South Africa, neighboring Rwanda, Egypt, Burkina Faso among others have come out to donate all or part of their earnings to their countries’ Covid19 funds.

Museveni urged Ugandan public servants to do the same.

“I start now by 50% of Janet’s money,” he said. “The civil servants and all political leaders, you have all heard; the people are asking you, other people are giving their salaries. What about you?” he said.

“And really we can raise quite a bit of money because the public servants are about 480,000.”

In Uganda, Hon Paulsen Luttamaguzi, the MP for Nakaseke has come out and instructed parliament to deduct Shs 2million from his monthly salary and send it to the Covid19 Task force.

Reopening

Uganda is currently in its final week of the Covid19 lockdown which was extended to May 5^th, and from yesterday ‘s presidential address, there are prospects for a gradual reopening of the economy.

Museveni however, said the lifting of the shutdown will be preceded my studies to figure out whether or not  Covid19 could still be in the public.

Nearly all of the new cases that have been recorded in the country lately have been foreigners, mostly cargo truck drivers from the neighboring countries.”

With virtually no cases discovered in the communities, Museveni said the studies to determine the reopening of the economy, will be examining three possibilities that is; whether or not the virus has been wiped out in the communities, whether or not the virus exists but Ugandans are immune and therefore don’t get sick, and whether or not the virus is silently contributing to the deaths of people who already have other serious illnesses.