Dr. Kenneth Omona, State Minister for Northern Uganda Rehabilitation (C) interacts with a section of leaders from Northern Uganda in Gulu City. Photos by Brian Komakech
By Brian Komakech and Simon Wokorach
Gulu: The State Minister for Northern Uganda Rehabilitation, Dr. Kenneth Omona, has drawn strategic plans for the socio-economic transformation of Northern Uganda and its gradual leap out of poverty.
The plans according to Dr. Omona come against the backdrop of the 2019/2020 Uganda National Household Survey reports which puts the poverty rate in Northern Uganda, at 67.7%, making it the poorest region in the country.
Community baraza to fight poverty
Barely three months in Office, since his appointment as the State Minister for Northern Uganda, Dr. Omona unveiled what he considers the magic bullet to salvage the Northern Region from its current poverty status.
Speaking to stakeholders in Gulu City on Friday, Dr. Omona said one of the strategies is community engagement (Baraza), which will be conducted by Parish Chiefs in the parishes in Northern Uganda, comprising Acholi, West Nile, Lango, Bukedi, and Elgon.
Omona noted that community engagement, which will take place every three months and has already received a nod from the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government, will help to highlight the experiences of locals about government programs and the challenges they are facing.
“The Permanent Secretary of Local Government will issue a circular to the Accounting Officers…to ensure the Parish Chiefs conduct Barazas in their Parishes,” Omona said.
According to Omona, the Parish Chiefs will not receive additional payment for the task but are required to use premises such as churches, schools, and tree shades to discuss with the community government programs such as the Parish Development Model (PDM), Emyooga, Universal Primary Education (UPE), Universal Secondary Education (USE), and Security among others.
Dr. Omona argued that people should share experiences during such meetings on their income-generating activities and the challenges they are facing in operating them.
“This community engagement can expose you to a lot of ideas that can be shared by the people and brought to the attention of the government for action,” he said.
Perennial crops for Northern Uganda
Secondly, Dr. Omona recommended the need for the introduction of perennial crops specifically for Northern Uganda, where the government can invest in propelling farmers to middle-income status.
Omona noted that the region is not economically viable, unlike other areas that have perennial cash crops such as tea and coffee where the government is heavily investing in their growing.
“The earlier we do this the better so that the government can also invest in it like it has done in tea and coffee in other areas of Uganda,” Omona said.
Religious and cultural leaders for wealth promotion
Dr. Omona also noted that there is a need for religious and traditional leaders to preach the culture of wealth to their subjects, arguing that they are the custodians of wealth in the community, besides promoting peace, unity, and love.
“We are calling upon leaders, to use every platform available to you to guide and encourage the people…Every home must be encouraged to have something available,” Omona said.
Emmanuel Orach, the Nwoya District Chairperson who represented all Chairpersons from the Acholi Sub-region highlighted pressing challenges in the areas of human-wildlife conflicts in areas bordering National Parks in Kitgum, Agago, and Nwoya districts.
Orach said the invasion of wildlife from Murchison Falls National Park and Kidepo Valley National Park, has for the past years disrupted agriculture which remains the number one source of employment for the people of Northern Uganda.
He also highlighted concerns about the loss of revenue to middlemen who are cheating farmers in the region due to limited or lack of value-addition chains in some districts and called for capacity building in value addition.
Anthony Akol, the Kilak North Member of Parliament in Amuru District, however, noted that the implementation of the PDM is unfair due to economic disparity.
For instance, Akol noted that the Acholi sub-region, which is the poorest region in the country, cannot be considered to get the same amount of money as areas in Western Uganda.
Under the PDM, the government earmarked shs100m for each parish across the country to uplift the socio-economic status of households.
The PDM worth shs490b was rolled out in February 2022, to replace Emyooga, and targets 10,594 parishes in the country.
Akol during the meeting also raised concerns about the delayed implementation of Northern Uganda Social Action Fund Phase Four (NUSAF4) and appealed to the government to expedite its process.
Acholi Paramount Chief, Rwot David Onen Acana II also asked the government to realign funding under PDM to regroup the youths so that they grow from their small enterprises.
“I am afraid that you are coming to office when everything in this region seems wrong but I am happy that it is you who have been with the President for a long time. This isn’t to discourage you but to strengthen how you will work and move this region forward,” Acana told Dr. Omona.
Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja, who officiated the stakeholder’s meeting, assured the leaders that the government is committed to ensuring the affirmative action programs for Northern Uganda remain a priority in addressing poverty.
Nabbanja revealed that the government is currently in the process of introducing NUSAF4, targeting livelihoods, instead of infrastructure like NUSAF3.
“The design of the program was guided by the President and he told us only to focus on the livelihoods of the people. This time we are not going to construct schools, and health centers, we are going to inject money into the people so that this time we can do better,” Nabbanja said.
Nabbanja noted that the project has already been endorsed by the Parliament and the Cabinet, and it is being followed up by the Ministry of Finance.
According to the government, NUSAF 4 will be rolled out in July this year to the tune of shs947.5b as a loan and shs150.5b as a grant for over five years, to provide a lifeline for more than 39% of the region’s population living in poverty.
NUSAF 4 will support 4,064 parishes, 667,000 households, and 31 million beneficiaries with 21,000 self-employment enterprises expected to be created for youth beneficiaries.
Despite Northern Uganda benefiting from NUSAF 1, NUSAF 2 and NUSAF 3 projects cumulatively costing shs1.3 trillion between 2003 and 2021, the region remains among the poorest in the country.
The first phase of the project worth shs17.2 b, started in 2003 and ended in March 2009. The second phase, worth shs379b, was approved in May 2009 and closed in February 2016. Meanwhile, its follow-up, NUSAF 3 worth shs16.8b closed in June 2021.
