Ignore secession agitators, northern Uganda told

By Patrick Okino

Northern Uganda state minister Rebecca Amuge Otengo has lashed out at politicians agitating for secession over what they termed as the government's failure to rehabilitate the region which has suffered decades of insecurity.

She described them as anti-development and that they were misguiding people who had just returned from internally displaced people`s camp after two years of uncounted suffering inflicted by the Lord`s Resistance Army war led by Joseph Kony.

“It is a total lie to say government has marginalized northern Uganda because we have programmes like Peace Recovery and Development Plan, Northern Uganda Social Action Fund and Agricultural Livelihood Recovery Programme which is not there in other districts,” she explained in a phone interview on Sunday.

Last week seven legislators from the Acholi region claimed to have launched a campaign to collect signatures to break away and form an independent country called Nile State.

The MPs accused the government of discrimination, rampant corruption and theft of donor funds meant for reconstruction of northern Uganda. In addition they pointed out the government's proposal to allocate land in Amuru district to investor for sugarcane growing.

 Otengo however said that most corruption cases, especially that in the office of the prime minister were being handled by relevant authorities and that a number of suspects had been interdicted while others are on remand in prison.

“These are learned people and they should help our community to come out of the bad situation we passed through but not to mislead them on secession story,” she added.

She commended the LC5 chairpersons in Lango and Acholi sub regions who are cooperating with the government in the implementation of various recovery programmes saying they should always use the entire fund allocate to them.

He said in the previous financial year government disbursed sh93b to districts in the region under PRDP but she was shocked to find out that sh12b were returned to the treasury.