Karamoja minister Lokeris blames regional absence on funding woes

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State Minister for Karamoja, Peter Lokeris, has lamented the crippling funding constraints suffocating his ministry.

Confessing that he has been restricted to Kampala despite having a designated government residence in Karamoja, he disclosed this on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, during an engagement between officials from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) and Parliament’s Presidential Affairs Committee, chaired by Alex Bakunda Byarugaba.

“I have been in the field. And wherever you go, when you talk tomorrow, you find things are cool. Where you have not gone, people are saying, What are you doing? And in fact, if you don’t go somewhere, they think that this man, long ago when he was minister the other time, used to move so vigorously,” Lokeris narrated.

“Now, at times, he disappears. And they ask me, Where did you go? And then I cannot tell them that there is no money. I say the work is too much in Kampala, but I do come occasionally,” he admitted.

Lokeris, however, pointed out to the MPs that his presence is required in the region to stem insecurity—something unattainable at the moment.

“I tried to give some estimation to the Minister of Finance. They reviewed my document, but they took no action. And last week, I was with the Minister of Finance. He was saying, I think this place needs your presence all the time. Then I told him, ‘Why didn’t you act on what I submitted to you the other time?’ You need to talk to people,” he disclosed.

MPs react

Stephen Kangwagye (Isingiro County, Indep.) acknowledged his concerns, saying his ministry should be better remunerated considering the area he covers.

“How do you expect them to perform? For instance, my aunt here, Madam Alice, they have a planned programme of three veteran civilians to be constructed…. When you go to finance, what do they tell you? Because for us, we are ready to clear you. Because we know the veterans are suffering. We know what happened in northern Uganda; people were killed. They know that there is this office, but there is no money, what do we do?” Kangwagye posed.

Documents submitted show that OPM’s budget for the 2025/26 Financial Year (FY) is projected at Sh154.5 billion. Of this, the Ministry for Karamoja plans to execute a set of planned activities at sh3.188 billion.

These include holding two cross-border peacebuilding meetings in collaboration with Kenya and South Sudan. The undertaking, which is expected to cost the taxpayer Sh200 million, aims to promote peaceful co-existence among the cross-border Karimojong, Turkana, Pokot, Dinka, Tepeth, and Nyagatom communities.

Additionally sh500 million is planned for facilitating forty security and peace meetings in Karamoja and along its borders, while another sh500 million shall go towards collaborating with the World Food Programme to improve enrolment and retention of children in school by supporting the school feeding programme.