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By Steven Ariong
MOROTO: Driving along Karamoja highways, someone sees series of development projects with signposts bearing European Union funded projects an indicates that EU has been one of the key funders of most of the development projects in Karamoja region.
This publication lists down some of the best funded European Union projects that had slightly helped Karamoja change and the worst recent project that has failed to create impact in th region.
The first project funded by European Union was a five year project called Nothern Uganda Rehabilitation Programe (NUREP) which did a significant change in Karamoja, this project targeted the construction of schools, police posts, peace activities and livelihoods and indeed it helped in scaling down cattle rustling in Karamoja because most warriors were targeted.
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That project ended and EU through consultations with the office of the prime minister designed another five year project called Karamoja livelihood program (KALIP) which was did a greater impact in terms of restocking program, training of farmers field schools, and training Karimojong reformed warriors to become village animals health workers, this helped the Karimojong pastoralists to acquire the knowledge of animals health and they were managing animal diseases from their villages without any guidance from veterinary doctors.
This projects programs are seen on the ground including construction of valley tanks before it also ended.
The EU team again sat with the office of the prime minister and designed another project called Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU) which has been seen to be one of the worst performing EU funded project in Karamoja.
Its should be noted that this five year project is ending next year, but nothing can be see on ground apart from a series of cracked animal market and uncompleted structures across the region.
According to the paper work seen by this publication, this project released about Shs20bn for the construction of community access roads in Amudat, Abim, Nakapiripirit and Moroto but most of these roads have remained incomplete while others have been washed away due to poor workmanship as a result of poor supervision from the projects engineers.
Joseph Nangiro one of the Anticorruption monitors in Nabilatuk district says much as government is taken up by the iron sheets investigations but there was also need to constitute a committee to investigate the abuse of EU funds in Karamoja.
“I don’t know whether the European union team are aware about this, because we have not seen anything done by DINU project in Karamoja,”Nangiro noted
Betty Chegem another Anticorruption monitor in Lorengedwat sub county in Nabilatuk district says there could be good work on paper but zero on the ground. According to Ms Chegem if anyone tours projects funded by European Union under DINU project, you will not be impressed.
“Go right now to Alakas border post where DINU constructed a police post at Shs700m and see how cracked it’s even before its handed over to police”-Chegem says
Several attempts to get a comment from Isaha Kitimbo the communications officer in DINU were futile as he could not pick up our repeated calls.
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