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By Steven Ariong
A section concerned elders of Karamoja sub region in the north eastern Uganda have appealed for an independent audit in the Karamoja restocking program.
In 2014 the government through the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) launched a restocking program for Karamoja and according to the officials from the office of the Prime Minister 16,266 livestock had been distributed to families in Karamoja Sub-region since the program was launched.
Fancis Okori, the then Commissioner-in-charge of Karamoja Affairs in OPM, said the livestock program which was launched when the First Lady Janet Museveni was still a minister for Karamoja affairs had continued.
Museveni was appointed Karamoja Affairs minister in 2009 before she assumed a new role as minister of Education two years ago. The Karamoja restocking programme according to Okori was aimed at empowering the Karamoja communities to improve their livelihood.
Okori explained that since 2014 when the program was launched they had distributed 16,266 livestock to various families in the region and that they are still distributing. He said 8,642 are oxen and ox-ploughs, while 7,624 are heifers adding that each household received two oxen and one oxen-plough.
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The elders however in Karamoja are saying there was no value for money in the project.
Mathew Logurale an elder from Loro Sub County in Amudat district said although government had a genuine objective of fighting poverty among the Karimojong household through restocking program but the selected people to manage the project seem to have abused the project.
He claimed saying some people are only given animals for taking photos but later the animals are withdrawn and never returned back to the intended beneficiaries.
“It’s unfortunate that a clique of People in the office of the Prime minister are using as the Karimojong as their eating plate for their own benefit, on several occasions these people in the office of the Prime minister call the names of those who are to benefit from the project but they are only allowed to take photos with the animals and animals are taken away from the People and never returned back,” Logurale told this website.
Joseph Lokol a resident of Nabokotom village in Amudat district claim that most of the animals that were given to the beneficiaries were collected back in the claim of treating them but they are never returned to the beneficiaries.
“I have evidence of 15 people who were registered in Loro to benefit from restocking project some cows were brought but taken back up to now those families have not received the livestock,” he said.
While Timothy Cheruto LC1 Chairperson of Karita village in Karita Sub County in Amudat district said Karita Sub County has never received any cow from the Project yet its part of Karamoja region.
“They have kept on deceiving us very many time that government is sending
animals under livestock program but nothing,” Cheruto said
Francis Kiyonga the former district LCV chairperson of Amudat many people didn’t receive the animals although they were registered.
“When you look at Amudat district two sub counties of Amudat town Council and Karita sub county were scheduled to receive 100 cattle per each sub county it was budgeted even procured but they have not delivered them now three years I believe the responsible officials could have mismanaged money,’ he said.
The similar complaint has been raised by different elders and leaders across Karamoja region with some saying the families that are opposing to the ruling government are not allowed to benefit from the program.
Effort to get a comment from the office of the prime minister were futile as the known contacts for the communication desk was switched off.
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