The local leaders in Kumi and Ngora district are appealing to government to put the health of the people living in these areas into consideration, as they spray the locusts that entered the two districts on Saturday.
The leaders are also urging government to look for other pumps that can effectively spray the locusts that are high up in the trees as the current pumps have a limited reach.
Christine Apolot, the LC5 Chairperson Kumi district said that she is worried about the health status of the locals because the locusts have settled in tall trees within the compounds.
“Most of the tallest trees the locusts have settled in are in compounds, so when they are spraying, the chemicals might affect the people,” she said adding that the chemicals will also affect the birds especially the chicken because there is no way the birds can avoid eating the locusts.
David Abala, MP Ngora County said that government should consider buying other pumps because the current ones are not doing the job right.
“We have found out that the pumps that were brought in here are not doing the job well so government should review and bring more pumps to help the soldiers curb this problem faster,” he said.
Some locals however urged that the small pumps are of no help at all since they can’t be used in spraying tall trees, they ask government to either send fire brigade or find an alternative.
