Brand Karamoja cattle â€" Nsibambi

Sep 25, 2003

PRIME Minister Prof. Apolo Nsibambi has directed that the Ministry of Agriculture in charge of Animal Husbandry to ensure that all cattle in Karamoja is branded

By Henry Mukasa

PRIME Minister Prof. Apolo Nsibambi has directed that the Ministry of Agriculture in charge of Animal Husbandry to ensure that all cattle in Karamoja is branded.

He said this would help wipe out armed cattle rustling in the pastoral region.

“We want to use this (branding) to solve the problem. When cattle is rustled, it becomes easy to locate it and reprimand the culprits,” Nsibambi said.

He said this yesterday while on routine inspection of the projects under his office.

Nsibambi was touring Karamoja Data Centre (KDC), a development project funded by the Italian government.

KDC was established in April 2001 as part of the Italian-funded Karamoja master plan.

In the first phase between 2000 and 2003, the Italian government gave $234,981 to the project and has committed 280,300 Euros ($300,000) for the second phase.

Italian ambassador Maurizio Teucci and Maria Cristina Martinoli, the director Italian Cooperation, attended.

Nsibambi hailed the Italian government for the aid and said KDC would be used to improve the quality of life of the Karamojong in a sustainable manner.

“We also want to use this project to address the critical problem of armed rustling which injures Karamoja itself and its neighbours. “We are grateful to the Italian government for assisting us,” he said.

Teucci said KDC success would provide a basis for the establishment of similar projects in Pader, Kitgum, West Nile and Teso region.

KDC project coordinator Ali Karatunga said a data inventory on Karamoja was available on a website, www.karamojadata.org.

He said the project had different programmes under, water, education, health, roads and agriculture.

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