Residents decry poor roads, bad schools
Impassable roads, poor healthcare, poor education services, and lack of clean water were some of the challenges the voters’ tasked Opposition’s Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) presidential candidate Patrick Amuriat to change as he campaigned in Lango sub-region for four days.
The roads, especially in Kole, Apac, Dokolo and Kwania districts, are full of potholes that make the road impassable.
Mr Amuriat’s vehicles and those of the journalists covering his campaign got stuck a number of times.
As a result, Mr Amuriat did not arrive at the campaign venues on time and spent at least two hours trying to cross from one village to another.
Mr Richard Odongo, a resident of Kole District, said due to the impassable roads, they cannot transport their farm produce to towns and markets.
He also said they did not have electricity in the district which has retarded development and worsened unemployment.
“If electricity was there, our children would be employed as welders, photographers, and operating salons. The government that comes to power after the elections should think of us,” Mr Odongo told Daily Monitor.
According Umeme, at least 1.5 million households across the country are connected to the national electricity grid while six million households are yet to be connected.
Many of the sub-counties that Mr Amuriat visited in Lango sub-region did not have electricity. The only people with power were those who could afford solar electricity.
Mr Conniy Otim, a resident of Kole Sub-county, said many parents have stopped sending their children to school because the teachers are never there.
“Teachers who are brought to teach in our schools do not want to work here because of the poor situation. Some teachers do not report to schools. We ask the next government to elevate the education of our children because we also want them to have a bright future,” Mr Otim said.
In 2019, a report by Apac Anti-corruption Coalition, a local NGO, indicated that Lango sub-region was grappling with a broken education system and cited teacher absenteeism and inadequate facilities as major challenges.
“This is a high agriculture production area with a lot of simsim, sunflower, and maize but these products cannot be transported to markets because of the impassable roads,” Mr Amuriat told the people yesterday.
He said if he is elected president next year, his government will construct and rehabilitate feeder roads by devolving power to villages instead of focusing on a few regions and city centres while ignoring the rural areas.
“My government will put money in the right place instead of leaving the money in the city centres that end up being stolen,” he said.
Amuriat yesterday traversed Kole, Pader and Agago districts.
