Archive for category: Homeless people

ADJUMANI. The construction of the 66-kilometres Atiak-Laropi road will now be completed by September 30, 2023, after the contractor was given more 18 months to complete the project.

Construction company, STRABAG has been undertaking the construction works for the Euro 53.8 million [Shs 235 billion] road. The project is part of the bigger Development Initiative for Northern Uganda [DINU] programme funded by the European Union [EU].

The three-year contract for the construction of the road began in 2020 and is due to expire in December 2022. STRABAG’s request for an extension by Government has been granted until September next year.

According to Eng. Safet Keco, the programme manager of STRABAG, the completion rate of the work stood at 65.36 percent at the end of October 2022. We may finish the remaining work before the new deadline,” Keco said.

He said that they have completed 62kms of the road, adding that it will take them only eight weeks to finish laying culverts for bridges.

Eng. Bernard Ocan, the road project’s consultant said the streetlights from Atiak Dzaipi to Pakele would be completed by end of February 2023.

The Uganda National Roads Authority [UNRA] area manager Moyo, Julius Mwesigwa has confirmed that STRABAG had been added 18 months to finish its road construction contract.

Mwesigwa said the road would be upgraded from gravel to class II bitumen standard with a carriageway width of seven metres.

A cross-section of the road users in Adjumani district have expressed worries saying the pace at which the work is progressing is very slow. Lindrio Catherine, a resident of Pakele town council where the road passes urged both the contractor and government to speed up the work.

The Moyo district LCV chairman, William Anyama who also doubles as the chairman of West Nile Development Agenda, said the region faces the challenge of a lack of good roads.

He said Atiak – Laropi road is part of the Atiak – Moyo – South Sudan border road which is a regional, national and international route connecting the remote North-Western regions of Uganda and South Sudan.

“We need this road completed, but we did not its quality to be compromised. The road is not for the people of west Nile only but it is an international road,” Anyama said.

Anyama said the road project would contribute towards improving road transportation and trade facilitation along the corridor thus improving transport services and agricultural productivity by connecting remote and disadvantaged districts to the main road network.

The project road traverses through Amuru and Adjumani districts along the Atiak – Moyo – South Sudan border. It runs in a North-westerly direction traversing through the trading centers of Dzaipi, Pakelle, and Adjumani town, and ends at Umi at the Ferry landing site on River Nile.

In November 2020, a dispute ensued between Utukulu Company Limited and STRABAG over ownership of a quarry site whose construction material would be used in constructing the road, hence delaying the project.

The dispute arose when Utukulu claimed it owned the rocks located at Ujigo and that it had secured an exploration license. They then made an exorbitant demand to STRABAG if they were interested but STRABAG declined and instead petitioned the chief administrative officer, Adjumani district.

https://thecooperator.news/lira-city-extends-shs-35bln-road-contract/

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LIRA-Miromi Farmers’ Cooperative Society in Agali Sub-county Lira district wants government to establish sources of water, especially irrigation schemes for agricultural production in the country.

A report conducted by Uganda Farmers Common Voice platform indicates that although Uganda is endowed with water resources, most farmers in the country rely on rain-fed agriculture. This is mainly due to limited access to irrigation based water sources such as irrigation schemes.

The Limited access to water for production, especially for smallholder farmers, according to the report authored by Professor Moses Tenywa of Makerere University, is attributed to poor legal framework in the country.

Now, the cooperative wants government to support them with an irrigation scheme in order to help them produce more food and sell during the dry season, noting that some places have irrigation schemes and are doing well.

The Cooperative established in 2016 and located at Acanroma village, Okile parish in Amac Sub-county deals in onion and tomato production during the dry season.

Nixson Ogwang, the chairman of the cooperative society wants the government to support them with irrigation equipment to boost their production, adding that government needs to come up with a policy on water for agricultural production.

According to him, this would encourage participation of the private sector in solving some of the challenges hindering small-scale farmers to have irrigation schemes that keep farmers busy throughout the year.

“The current technologies on the markets are very Miromi Farmers’ Cooperative Society expensive to ordinary farmers like us but through private-public Partnerships, the government can subsidise the costs and attract the private sector to avail the technologies to farmers at cheaper prices,” he said.

Donald Denis Opio, the Chairperson of Can-Onoto-Waa Youth Farmers’ Group which is also under Miromi Farmers’ Cooperative Society said they always realise about Shs 20 million after a sale of only one acre of tomatoes during the dry season venture.

He added that part of the money got from the project is shared among the individual youths who are engaged in tomato farming.

Lillian Edonga, a member of the Cooperative, said money from onion project has enabled her to build a permanent house. She equally asked for government support of the irrigation system so that they are able to produce onions and other vegetables during the dry season when farmers are not able to engage in farming due to drought.

Another farmer Ellen Akello said they are now targeting producing tomato and onions on a large scale for export. Akello called upon the government to support them with irrigation so that they are able to create employment by themselves through farming and boots household income.

Erute South Member of Parliament Jonathan Odur in an interview with theCooperator commended the members of the cooperative for engaging in farming during this dry season and pledged to make follow up with the government.

“As leaders we shall ensure that money is available in the subsequent financial years to support farmers to access water for production. Without fighting for the farmers, Uganda will be food insecure since rain-fed agriculture cannot sustain food production in the country,” he said.

Uganda has enormous freshwater endowments covering about 15 percent of the total areas of the country, thus providing great production for increased opportunities for increased agricultural production and productivity, water for production is estimated to account for 60-70 percent of the total national water requirements according to reports.

However, only 2 percent of the water is utilised for production with 1 percent used in irrigation compared to the 70 percent of water used for irrigation worldwide.

Experts say that low utilisation of water for production has contributed to a decline in agricultural productivity, mostly for smallholder farmers who dominate the agricultural sector in Uganda and mainly depend on rain-fed agriculture.

https://thecooperator.news/climate-change-experts-urge-government-to-prioritise-investing-in-irrigation-systems/

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KAMPALA-The African Development Bank [AfDB] has released its latest East African Economic Outlook, predicting a slow recovery in the region in 2022 at 4.0 percent against 5.1 percent in 2021.

The slowdown is due to the lingering effects of COVID-19; the adverse impacts of geopolitical tensions, notably the Russia-Ukraine conflict; climate change and devastating locust invasion, together with regional conflicts and tensions.

The report notes that because of these obstacles, countries in the region have experienced heightened inflationary pressures, particularly on food and fuel, leading to rising cost of living. This has resulted in weakening national currencies, floods and drought, contraction in agricultural production; depressed business activity, and falling revenue collection, among others.

However, the continued reopening of economies globally could mitigate these adverse effects in 2023 with a projected growth rate of 4.7 percent, repositioning East Africa as the top-performer in growth among the regions of the continent, according to the report.

The report, themed “Supporting Climate Resilience and a Just Energy Transition”, was launched on 28 October 2022.

In developing the 2022 East Africa Economic Outlook, AfDB critically studied various factors affecting growth in the 13 countries which constitute the East African region. The vulnerability of the region to the impact of climate change effects such as drought and flooding, could further hold back the region’s fragile recovery.

Speaking at the launch, Tanzania’s Finance Minister, Dr. Mwigulu Lameck Nchemba, said that the report was timely, considering the current cost of living which is of concern to every citizen in the region. Disruption of the regional supply chains, public debt, and the public discussions on the need for pro-poor spending policies were dominating debate, Mwigulu said.

He noted: “Despite the ramp up in infrastructure investments, more needs to be done to accelerate the development of sustainable infrastructure, including renewable energy to support industrialization and catalyze inclusive growth.” He called for mobilization of additional resources to expanded energy access, observing that the Democratic Republic of Congo was endowed with immense renewable energy resources to light up the entire continent.”

The Bank’s Director General for East Africa, Nnenna Nwabufo, said the vulnerability of the East African region to the impact of climate change effects such as drought and flooding, could further hold back the region’s fragile recovery. “This calls for urgent policy measures to build macroeconomic resilience including through diversifying economies to withstand shocks.”

Emmanuel Pinto-Moreira, Director of Country Economics Department at the Bank highlighted the key development challenges facing the continent, notably, high inflation, rising inflation, and climate change. He underscored the need to deepen domestic resources mobilization to finance social safety nets for the most vulnerable and climate resilient infrastructure.

Although fragile, the economic recovery is projected to be sustained in medium term in East Africa thanks to the rebound of service and industrial activities, increased public spending, reopening of travel and trade due to uptake of COVID-19 vaccines, recovery of tourism sector, deeper regional ties under the East Africa Community, and supportive macroeconomic policies, noted Marcellin Ndong Ntah, Lead Economist at the Bank.

Ndong-Ntah said that increased debt service costs, depreciating domestic currencies macroeconomic imbalances, a prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict, widening income inequality, political instability and vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters are key domestic and external downside risks affecting the region’s medium-term economic outlook.

Dr Rose Ngugi, Executive Director of Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis [KIPPRA] encouraged countries of the region to intensify their efforts to increase their annual growth rate at a least 7 percent, the minimum rate required to ensure the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs]. To this end, countries should achieve internal and external macroeconomic stability, she said.

Reflecting on the theme of the report – climate resilience- Edward Sennoga, Lead Economist at the Bank, noted that East Africa has the second lowest resilience to climate change in Africa, with most countries in the region also characterized by high vulnerability and low readiness to respond to climate change. He said there was the urgent need for innovative financing approaches to bridge the huge gap in climate change financing.

According to the report, the climate financing gap for East Africa is estimated at an average of about US$ 60 billion per year for the period 2020-2030. The report cites Public -Private partnerships, Green Bonds, partial risk and partial credit guarantees, carbon offsets, and regional energy trade as some of the measures that can provide alternative financing for climate change.

Teddy Mugabo, CEO Rwanda Green Fund echoed this perspective by stressing on need for innovative financing instruments and the effective use of carbon market.

https://thecooperator.news/more-than-31m-people-likely-to-face-food-insecurity-and-hunger-in-east-africa/

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KIRYANDONGO – Members of Persons with Disability SACCO Karuma in Karuma town council, Kiryandongo district on Tuesday received relief items from a group of wedded couples in the area dubbed ‘Christ for You Ministry’.

The SACCO with 718 members received items consisting of 20 boxes of soap, 50 kilogrammes [kgs] of salt, 30 kgs of sugar and a cash donation of Shs 7.18 million to support their activities.

Alpha Oketa, the Chairperson of ‘Christ for You Ministry’ says the donation of the relief items was purely a corporate social responsibility done annually by the wedded couples to support the vulnerable people in the community.

“Every year, ‘Christ for You Ministry’ organises marriage retreats where wedded couples contribute household items to support people with special needs in the community. Under this arrangement, we have so far reached out to over 2,000 needy people in the community,” he said.

“This is an opportunity to focus on evangelisation to the most vulnerable in the community. Supporting the needy is spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. I encourage others to do the same,” he added.

Judith Amal, the chairperson of the SACCO described the support as timely.

“The support has indeed come at the right time when several members of this SACCO are battling famine. Many are coming for loans and others want to withdraw their savings. The items will be given to each member and the money shared among the members but I have told them to save part of the money to grow their savings,” he told this reporter.

Rosolin Angom, a member of the SACCO said, “I am extremely grateful to leaders of ‘Christ for You Ministry’. I am excited that I have received Shs.100, 000 and household items. I ask them to do the same to others.”

Another member Selestino Odongo, who has hearing impairment, said the donation has given him much hope. Odongo plans to save part of the money and use the balance to support his family.

Persons with Disability SACCO Karuma which started in 2015 with 47 members currently has a loan portfolio of Shs 120mln.

https://thecooperator.news/coopweek2018-cooperators-unite-to-save-lives-in-massive-blood-donation-drive/

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