Can’t Be without Buvera

They have been demonized for causing drainage plus sewerage blockages; cancers in addition to other diseases in the digestive system and for failing to decompose quickly. However, even when the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning banned the use of ‘Buveera’ in Uganda while reading the budget for the new financial year 2007/8 on 1st July, few people followed the ruling. The problem was that ‘wanainchi’ were given only one month to stop the use and manufacture of these unwanted products. Instead, the importance of these bags was laid bare for all to see and no one dared to implement the ministry’s direction.
On Wednesday 30 April 2008 while returning to Nakawa from town around 9 AM, someone in the Ntinda bound taxi I was in suddenly mentioned something interesting, “There is tight security here.” I wondered where yet I had been in that area around 7 AM with my manager and saw nothing. It really takes a short time for things to happen. When I looked that way, I say a banner with Uganda Revenue Authority written on it campaigning against Buvera, “Keep the Pearl pure”. They were probably launching aggressive action against Buveera. Later on in the day while watching News on TV, I learnt that it was a joint initiative alongside other local organizations against polythene above 30 microns.
“I think they are going to pull this off,” one lady commented as I got ready to disembark. Come to think of it, they have enough resources to support a ‘kaveera-free environment’ but people somehow cannot do without these bags; the only other option could be to produce quicker decomposing (bio-degradable) polythene bags. Otherwise, we may just have to give the better solution as we eliminate Buveera.