Quality tests delay food distribution, says government

Government has refuted reports that the food distribution exercise had been suspended.
The State Minister for ICT, Mr Peter Ogwang, yesterday told Daily Monitor that a decision had been made to test all food, including beans before they are distributed to vulnerable groups.

“It is not true that we have suspended food distribution. It is true there are delays because we have put in place quality control measures,” Mr Ogwang said.
“It is for the good of the beneficiaries and we are asking them to bear with us. It is quality not quantity, we have the beans but UNBS (Uganda National Bureau of Standards) must check the quality and ensure what is supplied passes the test. The exercise is proceeding as directed by the President,” he added.
When Daily Monitor visited one of the distribution centres in Katwe, a Kampala suburb, on Tuesday, food distribution had been halted because the team had run out of beans.

Mr Ogwang, who is also the head of the food distribution team, said they were focusing on quality not quantity.
“UNBS is working around the clock to also ensure quality of posho (maize flour)...We produce a lot of food in Uganda and even export some so we cannot fail to feed our people,” he said.
Mr Ogwanga said food from many companies had been rejected because they did not meet the UNBS tests.

Turned away
“We have rejected food from various companies because they did not meet the standard. If those very companies bring the food for the second time, we subject it to quality test again and if (food) fails again, we reject it as well,” Mr Ogwang said.
He referred Daily Monitor to the State Minister for Relief and Disaster Preparedness, Mr Musa Ecweru, to provide the details of the companies that are supplying food to government, but he did not pick our calls.
Senior officials in the Office of the Prime Minister, including the Permanent Secretary have since been remanded to Kitalya prison over the relief food scam.
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