President Yoweri Museveni visited Karenga district to close a week-long Karamoja cultural event on September 7. The President used the opportunity to explain to the audience why the Karamoja Development Authority (KDA) had failed to achieve its initial targets.
The KDA was established by an Act of Parliament in 1987 to spearhead development programmes in the Karamoja region, including increasing access to water, education and health care, and improving the agriculture sector.
Addressing Karamoja residents gathered at the N q Apeikori grounds under the theme, “Celebrating Cultural Diversity, Promoting Peaceful Coexistence and Leveraging Tourism for Development”, President Museveni said although his government secured over $600 million (about Shs2.2 trillion) from the European Union in the 1980s, KDA management used the money on seminars and workshops rather than actual project implementation.

He said instead of spending money on water-related projects, they started organising seminars and workshops under the guise of capacity building.
President Museveni said the main challenge for the people of Karamoja was water, adding that apart from peacebuilding, major discussions and master plans should revolve around water and education.
“Once you have water and education, you can start creating wealth,” the president explained.
Museveni said districts in Karamoja region used to receive more than 800 million shillings for water projects but the budget was recently cut to 400 million shillings. He noted that current district leaders should now discuss harnessing the potential for water, especially from rainwater, and channelling it into dams for use.
He also called on the people of Karamoja to turn to perennial crops, especially grapes, citing as an example how Israel, which receives less rain than Karamoja, can grow grapes for winemaking.
President Museveni’s speech against the KDA comes at a time when some leaders in Karamoja are calling for the party’s revival, to be replaced by a Ministry of Karamoja Affairs under the Prime Minister’s Office.
He also called on Karamoja indigenes to discard some of their norms that are not in line with science: “In our culture, people are not allowed to marry their own people. Scientifically speaking, this is to control inbreeding, it is science.”
Museveni said culture should go hand in hand with science, adding that Karamoja’s population has increased tenfold since the 1980s, thanks to some of the achievements his government has made. He said that when he first visited Karamoja on an election campaign in 1980, the population was 190,000, but thanks to vaccination efforts undertaken by his government, Karamoja’s population has grown from 190,000 in 1980 to 1.4 million.
He said the only issue that still vexed residents of the region was the conflict between various ethnic groups, adding that once this issue was resolved, troops within Karamoja could be redeployed to police the border areas.
Reading out the resolution of the Karamoja leaders, Secretary General of Karamoja Herders of the Horn, Simon Peter Longori, said the issue of free education for Karamoja children needs to be implemented as soon as possible.
He said the resolution seeks amnesty for between 3,000 and 5,000 Karamoja children convicted of cattle raiding and related offences and incarcerated in various prisons across the country.
The leaders also demanded that due attention be given to irrigation when it comes to the issue of food security.
Ms Lily Akello, Member of Parliament for Karenga and Minister of State for Ethics and Integrity, reminded the President of the many promises he has made to the people of Karenga, key among them the issue of the electric fence around Kidepo National Park.