Grass-thatched houses in Arua irk minister Cheptoris
Tour. Water and Environment minister Sam Cheptoris (centre) and Mr Johnson Amayo (right), the deputy NWSC managing director, tour water projects in Arua last Friday. PHOTO BY CLEMENT ALUMA
What you need to know:
- Pathetic. The minister says it is absurd for an MP to stay in a house of millions of shillings in Kampala when his people live in grass-thatched houses.
ARUA. The Minister for Water and Environment, Mr Sam Cheptoris, has expressed disappointment at the continued presence of grass-thatched houses in Arua Town, which is aspiring to become a city.
He also criticised the district leadership for failure to encourage residents to embrace commercial farming.
Mr Cheptoris, who confessed it was his first time to travel to Arua, was assessing the Shs66 billion World Bank water and sewage works project in Arua last Friday.
“It is absurd for an MP to stay in a house of millions of shillings in Kampala when his people are staying in grass-thatched houses,” Mr Cheptoris said.
He was speaking to district leaders at White Castle Hotel after commissioning water stand pipes in Dadamu and Onduparaka areas, all in the suburbs of the town.
The MP for Arua Municipality, Mr Ibrahim Abiriga, and the district chairman, Mr Sam Wadri, both agreed with the minister’s observation.
Accepting blame
Ms Night Asara, the woman councillor for Arua Hill Division in Arua Municipality, echoed the minister’s observation, saying the local leaders have not done enough.
Criticism
Advise. Minister Cheptoris criticised the district leadership over failure to encourage locals to embrace commercial farming. He said the continued use of hand hoes and other rudimentary tools for cultivation will not help the area attain middle income status.
