The issue of corruption in the Karamoja subregion has been a significant problem for a number of years with some evidence showing both local and national government officials being accused of diverting resources meant for development and humanitarian aid. Infact, if an academic scholar was to describe the Karamoja subregion, readers may wonder and ask: What has happened or what is happening with just a population of 1.5 million distributed in nine districts?
Fifteen years ago, Karamoja was described as having the worst development indicators in Uganda (Powel, 2010). Almost the same findings were revealed by the Uganda Bureau Of Statistics in 2024, stating that Karamoja is the poorest regions in Uganda (UBOS, 2024).However, despite the significant amount of resources injected by both the government and donors in Karamoja, an analysis may show that the resources do not corelate with the situation on the ground.
This is manifested by the miserable lifestyles of the people, poor performance in the education sector, lack of medicines in health centers, and the daily struggles faced by the people of Karamoja. This raises the question: Does the government actually send the planned resources to Karamoja, and if so, what could be the problem? Is it a lack of “love for one another”, or has everything been left to “whom it may concern”?
The un answered question remains: Do the technical people from Karamoja in government positions have love for the people of Karamoja, or is it just “to whom it may concern”? One might expect that since the majority of district technical officials occupying government positions in Karamoja districts are sons and daughters of Karamoja, they would plan with love in their hearts for their people in order to uplift their status.
To be honest, “charity begins at home”. Therefore, until the district government officials in Karamoja districts who access and control government resources have love for the people they serve, the deep-seated problems such as corruption, poverty and poor education performance in Karamoja will never be solved.
Author: Ayub Mukisa (PhD). Executive Director for Karamoja Anti-Corruption Coalition (KACC).
Email:ayubmukisa@gmail.com
.
Do you have a story in your community or an opinion to share with us: Email us at editorial@watchdoguganda.com
