Leaders warned against abuse of funds for northern Uganda

Pader. State Minister for northern Uganda Grace Kwiyucwiny has cautioned government officials against abuse of funds meant for the socio-economic and livelihood development in the region.
Ms Kwiyucwiny instead tasked them to monitor the use of the funds donated by government and development partners to help transform lives of people in the region.
“Let us use the resources under this project correctly; if the money is meant for roads, let us do that… if it is for livelihood improvement, let it do that. Positive impact of this project should be our priority,” Ms Kwiyucwiny said.
She made the remarks during a consultative meeting on the ongoing implementation of Development in Northern Uganda (DINU) project under the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) at Pader District headquarters on Friday.
DINU, which is supported by the European Union (EU) to a tune of Euros 150 million (about Shs67 billion), was launched in May and will support 33 districts in the region.
“Accounting officers, please do the right thing; let the people benefit from this project, you will benefit from the programme too,” she added.
According to the minister, by the end of the five years, the project should have registered success, arguing that if not, then the leaders in the region should take blame.
“I feel the pain that many times we do not do the right thing when funds are sent to the region. If we miss this opportunity, we shall miss it forever and our people will suffer,” Ms Kwiyucwiny said.
EU Ambassador to Uganda Attilio Pacifici, in a speech read by EU representative Celine Lhoste, said under the programme, support will be provided to local government leaders to enable them to better respond to the needs of the citizens.
He noted that northern Uganda, despite receiving a lot of attention over the past decades, has been lagging behind compared to other parts of Uganda.
“Efforts are, therefore, required to narrow this gap and to respond to the specific challenges faced by people of northern Uganda,” Mr Pacifici said.
Mr Godfrey Oringa Largo, the Pader District chairperson, lauded government for extending numerous projects in the region that is recovering from the brunt of the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel insurgency.
Gulu Resident District Commissioner Santos Okot Lapolo, however, said the project should majorly focus on the beneficiaries instead of the leaders and implementers.