Govt should handle repatriation better

The government has started repatriating Ugandan nationals stranded abroad. It must be said the efforts by President Museveni and the Health ministry towards preventing the spread of coronavirus should be applauded. The threat of the virus being imported was very real and the government did whatever it could to curb the spread, including closing the airport
Considering that many people were locked out of the country when the announcement of the lockdown was announced , it was only a matter of time before they would start asking to be allowed to return home.
After three months of back and forth discussions, the Foreign Affairs ministry did not issue any convincing or helpful statements even as a few individuals were allowed to come back on a privately hired airplane. Later, the government heeded to the calls of the stranded and Ugandans.

While we are happy that government has finally responded positively to the calls of the stranded citizens abroad, it still needs to do more and in a better manner.
For instance, many of the citizens who were asking to be allowed to come back home started to do so way back in April. Since then, it is possible that many of them have spent the resources they had to survive. Some may not have planned to stay abroad for long, but the lockdown announced back home prevented them from returning. It is most likely that they do not have enough money to purchase air ticket.
Besides, those who have returned have been sent to quarantine in either high-end or low-end centres for 14 days before they can be allowed to go back to their families. This is a safe measure that must be done, but while they are in quarantine, the government should ensure that they get proper treatment and handled with respect wherever they are placed.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs should also provide a well organised schedule of our nationals returning from different countries. The ministry had earlier said they had given dates, only for it to halt the programme on July 3. This was done to enable the ministry to decongest some of the current quarantine sites. It appealed to Ugandans who are still outside to “await further guidance”.
This has complicated matters for those who had already made bookings and paid for tickets to return home on particular dates. The ministry should have planned the schedule better right from the start. They are making an already difficult situation worse.
The ministry should make the schedule for those who want to return more reliable to enable them to plan better. Doing so will also smoothen the repatriation process going forward.