MP Anywar accused of encroaching on NARO land

LIRA/KITGUM. The National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) has accused Kitgum Municipality Member of Parliament, Ms Beatrice Anywar, of encroaching on their land.

Ms Anywar is accused of encroaching on the land housing Kitgum Satellite Station.

The Land in question measures approximately 140 acres. NARO said, several developers including the legislator have encroached on the land located on Lira road.

MP Anywar is said to have constructed a residential house on it, while Gulu University Kitgum campus, which is occupying some structures, is also accused of defaulting rent payments totaling to Shs170 million.

Ngetta Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute (ZARDI), Lira District, which owns Kitgum Satellite Station is seeking an explanation from Kitgum District leadership as to why it has illegally given away 40 acres of their land to private developers.

The director Dr Laban Turyagyenda, said they will seek court order to carry out eviction of people who have encroached on their land including MP Anywar.

Dr Turyagyenda led a team of officials from Ngetta ZARDI to Kitgum last Thursday to meet with the district leaders and see how they can resolve the issue amicably.

However, the team got annoyed after they failed to meet the leaders as none of them was in office including the district chairman, Mr Jackson Omona.

Mr Omona in a letter to the Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries said, the district council in its sitting of November 29, 2017 under minute number 05/29/11/2017 allocated 12.8 acres of land within Kitgum Municipality currently occupied by the District farm Institute to Gulu University Kitgum study centre due to three main reasons.

“As a local government, over the years, we have not been able to see any tangible benefit in terms of research activity from the institute,” he said.

“Secondly, the district has given priority to the education sector, and in that regard, we have allocated this land for university education which is believed will benefit the people of Kitgum District and neighbouring areas.”

He added that former town council has since been elevated to a municipal status which necessitates the expansion of the town centre to accommodate numerous demands from potential developers.
“The district farm institute is located in the heart of Kitgum town which is a total hindrance to such development,” Mr Omona said.

But Dr Turyagyenda insisted that Kitgum District council has no moral authority to give out part of their land to Gulu University or any other private developers before consulting them (NARO).

“We only entered into tenancy agreement with Gulu University to rent some of our premises for operating a study centre in Kitgum, but they have also failed to clear accumulated rent arrears equaling Shs170m,” Dr Turyagyenda said.

He also denied allegation by the district chairman that NARO satellite station has been non-operational for a very long time.

“We are carrying out research in our satellite station; we have demonstration gardens where we planted drought-resistant Nase 14 cassava variety, pigeon peas and sunflower among other crops. We also have poultry, piggery and dairy cows to encourage urban farming,” he said.

Gulu University secretary, Mr Moses Seguya Mukenya, said they stopped paying rent for their Kitgum campus to NARO because the Kitgum District leaders told them they were paying money to a wrong institution.

“The district local government (Kitgum) told us that that it is their land which they had just given to NARO to establish a district farm institute, but it has been idle for a long time,” he told this reporter on phone.

“So they have retaken it (land) and as I speak now Kitgum District local government has signed a memorandum of understanding with Gulu University granting us permission to open a constituent college there,” he added.

Efforts to get a comment from MP Anywar were futile as she declined to talk to us about that issue.
Ngetta Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute (ZARDI) is one of the 13 Public Agricultural Research Institutes (PARIs) established by the NAR Act 2005 under the National Agricultural Research Organisation.

Ngetta ZARDI is located in Lira as its zonal headquarters and covers all the 16 districts of Lango and Acholi sub-regions.

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