Don't Cheer An Abortion

There is nothing to cheer about the termination of a pregnancy so that the life of a mother is saved. This is how I see the banning of polythene bags. Polythene bags are dangerous to the environment and therefore a threat to the long-term well-being of Ugandans. However, the announcement of the ban should not have drawn cheers from MP’s during the budget speech! Polythene bags are a source of employment to hundred of thousands of Ugandans both directly and indirectly. We have Ugandans employed by the manufacturers of polythene and the producers of products packaged in polythene, the boys and girls in markets who sell the bags, market vendors and shop-keepers who use them to remain competitive against the mushrooming big retailers and those petty traders who pack food and refreshments cheaply and conveniently in polythene for their low income market segment. As far as I can remember, no sensitisation was done among these people when the proposal was brought to the floor of parliament by one vocal blood-sucker. They are completely invisible to our blood-suckers. No study or discussion was held on the impact the ban would have on their livelihoods and possible mitigating interventions. The fact is that though the ban on polythene bags is good, it is going to affect the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of unskilled Ugandans who are going to find it hard to cope in a way that could have been avoided if only our MP’s really cared.