Leaders in Karamoja have urged President Museveni to intervene by bringing together the two rivaling ministries, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Water and Environment.
According to the leaders, there is a lot of duplication of activities by the two ministries, something they say is affecting service delivery in the region.
Mr. Paul Lokol, the District LCV Chairperson of Nabilatuk district, said it hurts to see the Ministry of Agriculture claiming ownership of projects that were executed by the Ministry of Water and Environment in Karamoja, instead of initiating their own projects.
He noted that in some areas where the Ministry of Water and Environment conducted studies to construct a multipurpose dam, the Ministry of Agriculture intervened and sealed off the area to construct a valley tank, which does not address the needs of Karamoja.
“We don’t want valley tanks in Karamoja; what we want is a multipurpose dam that can serve the community for a long period without drying,” he said.
Jino Meri, the District Chairperson of Kaabong, expressed dissatisfaction with the two ministries clashing and duplicating work in the region.
“Under the Resilience program, Karamoja has not seen a good impact at all, and yet this was a project which was being implemented 80% by the Ministry of Agriculture,” he said.
John Paul Kodet, the District Chairperson of Napak, emphasized the need for the President to intervene and bring these ministries into order so that each ministry works according to its area of expertise.
Several attempts to obtain comments from the two ministries proved futile, as none of the communication officers answered repeated calls, nor replied to several SMS messages.
