The new Ministers for Karamoja Affairs, Peter Lokeris and Florence Wamala Nambozo (State Minister), have vowed to transform the sub-region.
This was revealed during their maiden visit to the sub-region at a stakeholders’ meeting held in Kotido district on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.
The new ministers replaced Mary Goretti Kituntu and Agnes Nandutu, respectively, who were recently fired after being accused of misusing iron sheets meant for the vulnerable people in the sub-region. Kitutu faced charges alongside other ministers for diverting over 10,000 iron sheets from the intended program for personal and third-party benefits.
According to Lokeris, they attended the meeting with the aim of familiarizing themselves with the issues at hand in the sub-region.
“We came to introduce ourselves to you, the stakeholders, and interact and discuss issues with a view to tackling them head-on to improve and transform the Karamoja sub-region,” Lokeris said.
The minister, who recounted the historical path for the Karamoja sub-region, discouraged and denounced the acts of revenge amongst a few criminal elements who wanted to cause a vicious cycle of criminality.
He appealed to the top security commanders and local leaders to continue working together to maintain security and weed out criminality to pave the way for further investment opportunities and accelerate development.
Minister Nambozo, who is also the Woman Member of Parliament for Sironko district, noted that they would work together with local leaders and pledged to make deliberate efforts focusing on the fight against food insecurity, water for production, and compulsory education for all children.
The new ministers further noted that the Karamoja Development Agency (KDA) requires fast tracking into reality as it remains one of the relevant tools for realizing transformation.
The Deputy 3rd Division Commander of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), Brig Gen Felix Busizoori, asserted that the sub-region enjoys relative peace, which he attributed to community mobilization, cross-border engagements, and adherence to the current Presidential Amnesty window.
The Commandant of the Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU), SCP Elias Kasirabo, assured the leaders of continued support to close gaps by ensuring access to police services, including canine services, enhancing road check points, and regulating livestock markets to curb thefts in order to avoid counting losses.
During the meeting, one Karacuna surrendered a submachine gun to the UPDF 3rd Division leadership, which was a gesture of continued voluntary approach to the ongoing disarmament operation. Karacuna, identified as Pusia Lodomosia, hails from Jimos village in Itakwara parish, Napumpum sub-county in Kotido district.
Present at the maiden meeting and visit included, but were not limited to, Members of Parliament from north Karamoja, Resident District Commissioners, Chairpersons of District Local Governments, heads of security agencies, and opinion leaders, among others.
During the meeting, a number of pertinent issues, including the coordination and implementation of government programs, security and peace initiatives, harmonious co-existence and unity amongst tribes, and socio-economic transformation, among others, were deliberated on. A similar meeting for senior leaders from south Karamoja is expected to convene in Moroto district.
The writer is Maj Isaac Oware
Public Information Officer for the UPDF 3rd Division
