Adjumani residents ask FDC'S Amuriat for jobs

Residents of Ma'di sub-region are hoping that Patrick Amuriat Oboi's presidency will give their children jobs and also protect their natural resources, such as forests. The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) candidate on Friday started combing Ma'di sub-region for votes.

He held campaign meetings at Pakelle town council and Adjumani town, before proceeding to Obongi and Moyo districts, respectively. Safi Vuni, a local, said many educated youth in the region are unemployed because there are no industries to absorb them upon graduation from various higher institutions of learning.

"Our children are roaming towns abusing drugs after graduating, that is why I want change, the only employment the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government gives the youth here is joining the Police or army, which is not paying," Safi said.

Olga Adrupio, a resident of Adjumani town, said their children are being taken to work in Kampala as security guards and as cane cutters in sugar factories. "This Government is giving us loans, instead of providing our children with better paying employment opportunities.  I am old too old to work to repay  the loan," Adrupio  said.

She said lucrative humanitarian jobs that accrue as a result of the region hosting refugees are also being given to non-natives, further marginalising the host community.

Tear gas as Amuriat arrives

After engaging with Police in a cat-and-mouse chase through Adjumani town, Amuriat and his motorcade were intercepted on the way to Cesia Primary School playground.

An altercation broke out between the FDC candidate and Adjuamni district Police Commander Godwin Ochaki over failure to  follow  the route  designated by Police to access the campaign venue.

A brief scuffle ensued a moment later, prompting Police to fire tear gas to disperse jubilant supporters who had gathered to welcome their presidential candidate. Later, calm returned and the two parties reached a comprise.

Amuriat was led by a litany of Police officers to Cesia Primary School playground, where he held his rally. Amuriat told the residents that once in office, his government will roll out one million jobs to youth, including those in Ma'di sub-region, to address the unemployment problem.

He said Ma'di sub-region, just like other parts of greater northern Uganda, has been marginalised by the NRM rule for decades, relegating its youth to the little paying bodaboda business.

Amuriat also said he will decentralise the management of natural resources in the region, which he said will safeguard the resources, while benefiting the locals. "We shall bring to book those who have been plundering Zoka Central Forest Reserve and give the forest back to the people of Ma'di," Amuriat said.