Iganga, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The National Resistance Movement-NRM party supporters in Iganga district on Friday blamed the government for failure to distribute free face masks.
The voters who were participating in the NRM party elections for Kigulu South constituency were also concerned about the lack of temperature guns, sanitizers and hand washing facilities at the polling areas.
The polls in Kigulu South were postponed following the death Stephen Waako. Waako was involved in an accident at Kakira along Iganga-Jinja highway on September 4, the day of the primaries.
The cost of a face mask in Iganga town is estimated at 1,000 shillings, however, hundreds of voters who were lining up behind the campaign posters of their preferred candidates at the different polling stations told URN that they barely have money to buy food therefore if masks are not freely distributed within their communities, most of the residents cannot afford to purchase them.
Edirisa Kazibwe, a resident of Ntinda village in Bulamagi sub county says that although most of the residents lack masks as their primary covid-19 prevention measure, it is easy for health workers to trace the possible contacts in case of any covid-19 outbreak since the voters reside and work from the same village.
Dismas Nyonyintono, the LCI chairperson of Nampirika A village says that most residents are adamant to wear face masks since there is laxity in enforcing the covid-19 guidelines at the polling stations during NRM primaries.
Sarah Mutesi, a resident of Busei village says that although ministry of health has laboured to sensitize the general public on the advantage of wearing face masks, such guidelines are not implemented in the rural areas prompting locals to deliberately flout them.
However, the Iganga district health officer David Muwanguzi says that their covid-19 taskforce has not received government masks but advised residents to observe the ministry of health guidelines.
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