Joseph Ayolo, Karamoja – Recently, the Speaker of Parliament, Annet Anita Among, was quoted as saying there was corruption in parliament. This could be true when one reflects on how billions of shillings have been swindled in Karamoja for work not done.
There has been much attention on arresting members of parliament over alleged corruption, but the government departments responsible for fighting corruption have not taken any steps to see how projects in Karamoja are being implemented.
This publication sheds light on how the Karamoja region has remained a feeding plate for government officials in both the Ministry of Water and Agriculture.
To start with, whoever has seen pigs struggling for maize bran in one small container can imagine how the Ministry of Agriculture and Water struggles for projects in Karamoja. The worst thing is that the Ministry of Agriculture seems to be grabbing more maize bran, which ends up suffocating them, given the failed projects they grabbed, thinking they could manage them.
Some projects, such as dams, animal holding grounds, and cattle markets, were fully funded and expected to have been completed since 2019 when the project was launched. However, these projects remain uncompleted, and other sites have been deserted by the contractors for unknown reasons.
Surprisingly, these projects are funded by the World Bank through the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Industry under resilience projects in the region.
In Morungole Dam, located in Kaabong, which was under construction by Zhongaho Company Limited, a Chinese firm, at the cost of SHS 7.8 billion, the work has stalled and been deserted since its launch in May 2019. However, no investigations or arrests have been made regarding that project.
“I’m not in a position to talk about that. Maybe you should talk to the director,” he said and hung up his call.
In Nakonyen, the SHS 14 billion dam has also been deserted, and no investigations have been launched on that project.
Another dam located in Kanapidi, Kaoyaagor village in Kotido district, which cost the government SHS 6.7 billion, is nearly collapsing due to poor workmanship. No investigations have been conducted on that matter.
In Moruita sub-county in Nakapiripirit district, there is an uncompleted SHS 500 million cattle market.
In Namalu sub-county in Nakapiripirit district, the uncompleted cattle holding ground worth SHS 1.8 billion has been deserted, and no investigations have been carried out.
In Kosike in Amudat district, a dam worth SHS 10 billion has been deserted, and no investigations have been carried out to bring the engineers in the Ministry of Agriculture to account.
In Lemusui sub-county in Nakapiripirit district, there is also an abandoned and poorly constructed cattle market that has been turned into sub-county offices.
Mr. Paul Lokol, the district chairperson of Nabilatuk, said the behavior of the Ministry of Water and Environment and Ministry of Agriculture staff affects the development of Karamoja.
“The MAAIF people just do their work without involving the district people or the local community, making it hard for proper supervision and ownership of any project,” he said.
According to Mr. Lokol, as long as the technical team from the Ministry of Water and the Ministry of Agriculture continues to behave as if they are from heaven, there will be no successful projects under the World Bank in Karamoja.
Mr. John Nangiro, the district chairperson of Nakapiripirit, said the Ministry of Agriculture needs to be held accountable for what they have used for Karamoja.
