Roads, electricity top voters’ concerns in Amuru, Adjuman

CITIZENS’ MANIFESTO

Securing sustainable peace, which was a nightmare in the early days of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government with several rebel groups seeking to dislodge the new establishment, political pundits said, has set transformation of West Nile, Acholi sub-region and northern Uganda in motion.

The military successes against the rebel groups consolidated through the 2002 West Nile Peace Accord between the Government and the amalgamation of the rebel movements such as the Uganda National Rescue Front II, West Nile Bank Front, Uganda National Rescue Front coupled with the subsequent defeat of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) led by Joseph Kony, stabilised the sub-region towards steady progress.

For West Nile, between 1979 and 2002, the region went through a series of insurgencies, starting with the Uganda National Rescue Front, West Nile Bank Front, Uganda National Rescue Front II and the National Resistance Army— West Nile Front.

West Nile

Within West Nile, voters from the sub-region with about 3.9 million people, also raised similar issues, noting that leaders should work with communities to address challenges to enable them spur the development leap experienced in over two decades of peace.

Among the roads West Nilers are celebrating is the 66km road connecting the sub-region and Acholi from Atiak to Laropi ferry via Adjumani.

The road equally connects the region to South Sudan via the Elegu border. The 103km Koboko-Yumbe-Moyo road is currently being constructed with financing from the World Bank under the Refugee Window at a cost of $130m (sh448.1b).

When Museveni addressed rallies in Nebbi and Zombo districts on October 11, 2025, the voters demanded the tarmacking of Nebbi-Goli-Zombo-Vurra Road stretching about 103km.

They added that five national roads under the works ministry, namely, Dubai-Madi Okollo-Pakwach Road, Arua-Nebbi Road, Vurra Customs-Logiri Road, Iruba-Logiri Road, Logiri-Eceko Road, were in a terrible state.

Amuru demands  

Within Amuru district, voters’ demands range from the demands of new local government units such as Apaa district, the need to upgrade of health centres and the fulfilment of pledges.

The need to pave major roads connecting Amuru to other areas, is the other demand voters tabled.

According to Michael Lakony, the LC5 chairperson of Amuru district, Awer-Rhino Camp road via Amuru town council that connects Amuru and Arua districts, is one of the major roads that needs to be fixed.

“The road is in bad condition, yet it is the highway which can ease movement between these two districts,” he said. On healthcare, Lakony said Labongo Gali health Centre III should be upgraded to Health Centre IV to serve the population of Kilak South County.

“The health centre is overwhelmed by the number of patients getting the service there, but some services are not offered by Health Centre III. So, it needs to be upgraded,” he said.

Within the education sector, Lakony said the Government should increase the budget for building new classroom blocks to bridge the gaps in school infrastructure within Amuru.

Lakony added that 27 community schools should be turned into government-aided schools to serve the district.

“Most of the government schools in Amuru are along Gulu?Elegu highway. These schools are in poor state with no permanent structures, high numbers of pupils and few qualified teachers, yet they are the main schools in rural areas,” he said.

Apaa district 

Other voters in Amuru called for the creation of new administrative units, noting that Apaa district should be created.

Explaining the Apaa district demands, Richard Kamara Okumu, the Pabbo town council LC3 chairperson, said: “This will help people in Apaa to live in peace and unity and increase their household income as they will engage in agricultural activities.”

Okumu also requested for the creation of Kilak district from Amuru district.

He argued that: “Amuru district is large and another district needs to be created to cater for people in Kilak South to help bring services closer to communities as people move long distances to district headquarters to get service.”

He also requested for the upgrade of Pabbo Health Centre III. “At the moment, the health ministry has injected sh2b for constructing outpatient department block (OPD) and staff quarter at Pabbo Health Centre.

The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) engineering brigade is in charge of the process of upgrading the facility,” he said.

The elevation of Pabbo town council to a municipality is the other demand voters in Amuru have tabled before leaders.

Okumu said: “Pabbo is one of the historical sites since it hosted one of the biggest internal displaced persons’ camps (IDP) in northern Uganda during LRA insurgency. It is also strategically located along Gulu-Elegu highway.”

Samuel Akera, the LC3 chairman of Atiak sub-county, who is also the chairperson of NRM Atiak sub-county, said Atiak Health Centre IV should be upgraded to a district hospital.

“Atiak is the only health centre IV in the district which is serving the entire population, including South Sudan nationals from the Elegu border,” Akera said.

Akera added that during the war, school trucks for Atiak technical and Pabbo secondary schools were taken by the rebels.

“The President pledged to buy two new school buses to replace the trucks that were taken by rebels. So, these pledges should be fulfilled. The President should also fulfil his pledge to build a girls’ secondary school in Lagot Alero in Atiak,” he said.

Akera added: “We are happy that the Government has tarmacked Gulu-Atiak road, and Atiak-Palabek road will be worked on. We request for speedy tarmacking as this road will connect other areas to the Palabek refugee settlement.”

The need to pave major roads connecting Amuru to other areas, is the other demand voters tabled.

Citizen’s manifesto  

The voters’ issues are also reflected in the New Vision Citizens’ Manifesto conducted between March and May this year, where they highlighted key bottlenecks undermining service delivery in the spheres of healthcare, roads infrastructure, water and sanitation, poverty and unemployment, power connectivity, education, agricultural services, land management, crime and leadership, among others.

To ensure a national outlook, the Citizens’ Manifesto and survey involved 6,006 respondents from 58 districts across 17 sub-regions. The respondents were randomly sampled from both rural and urban setups.

Key demands  

Save for Obongi, most districts of the region have since been connected to the national grid. But the voters now want electricity in villages.

The current state of the Arua-Nebbi highway, which has become a death trap with countless gullies and potholes, has caused damages and crippled business in the region. The road is the main transit route to South Sudan and eastern DR Congo.

The only gateway to West Nile, Pakwach bridge, is equally in a sorry state and needs to be redone. Once the bridge collapses, West Nile will be cut off from other parts of Uganda.

Victor Eyotre, a bodaboda rider, said some road users speed and collide with trucks while negotiating areas with potholes. He calls on the Government to fix the bad spots and ease road transport business.

Denis Alitema, a business person, complained of a distance of 55km from Arua to Okollo trading centre in Madi Okollo district, which takes two hours for drivers.

“It delays business as a lot of time is wasted on the road. The entire road needs to be re-tarmacked,” Alitema said. Abdu Niko Miraji, a voter in Maracha town council, said: “We need rural electrification, and currently the power lines only cross towns and trading centres, leaving the majority of the population unserved.” 

Govt interventions  

The Government has been implementing affirmative efforts to settle the West Nile electricity question.

According to analysts, electricity disparities in the region have impeded steady progress despite the prevailing peace.

The interventions to address electricity insufficiencies in the region, have included boosting power generation capacity through establishing power plants such as; Karuma Hydropower Dam, Nyagak I, Nyagak III and Isimba Dam, among others.

The President, on August 3, 2024, commissioned the 289km Kole–Gulu–Nebbi–Arua 132 kilovolt transmission line and associated 80MVA 132/33kV substations at Kole, Gulu, Nebbi and Arua, eventually connecting West Nile to the national electricity grid after many years of dirge.

Joel Harrison Mukisa, the quality control manager and production supervisor Rwahi Investments Limited — operating the value addition factory in Arua city — said stable electricity supply has normalised operations.

Yet as West Nile taps into the electricity distribution gains, Vincent Okaba, the proprietor of Rock Filling Fuel Station, called for subsidisation of the cost of power and related connection challenges.

“How do you expect the people of West Nile to get connected when the cost of connection is very high? How can people consume power when the connection cost and cost of poles is in millions? The Government needs to do something,” Okaba said.

According to Jackson Lee Atima Buti, the Arua Central Division MP, rural electrification projects must also be intensified by the Uganda Electrification Transmission Company Limited. “Much of the power is in the trading centres and peri-urban areas,” Atima said.

Museveni encouraged investors to set up industries in West Nile, citing the availability of power and the strategic location of the place.

Museveni’s take  

However, as he campaigned in West Nile this week, Museveni encouraged investors to set up industries in West Nile, citing the availability of power and the strategic location of the place.

West Nile borders DR Congo and South Sudan, making the region one of the major fulcrums for regional trade.

“The argument by some people who say that we had forgotten West Nile were wrong; they were not serious, they were disruptive. There is a lot of power waiting to be used. What I would recommend is to develop an industrial park somewhere in the West Nile near the power,” he said. Museveni added,

“We struggled with electricity because it was stopping in Lira, and the original problem was the long distance from Lira to Arua. You must understand the diagnosis of your patient. In NRM, we understood exactly what the problem was, like sectarianism. We say sectarianism is (political) suicide. That is why we reject it completely. We do not care who you are or where [you come from]; we care about what you are doing or planning to do.”

The veteran question

Ex-combatants in the demobilised rebel movements under the 2002 West Nile Peace Agreement reiterated appeal for compensation. The Government has since released sh5b out of sh13b the group claims. They claim that out of the over 3,000 ex-combatants of West Nile Bank Front, about 2,000 are yet to be compensated.

Similarly, the Government recently launched sh19b payment for the veterans under the Uganda National Rescue Front, which was led by the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Gen. Moses Ali.

Due to some challenges in rehabilitation, reintegration and resettlement of former combatants, Lt. Col. Obitre Gama said with about 10,000 reporters and victims, they have only managed to reintegrate 1,472, leaving the majority in dire need for support.

What voters say

Charles Akuku, NRM chairperson of the Adjumani district 

We want the construction of the long-awaited Laropi bridge on the River Nile to start. We also want the president to compensate the LRA war victims, which requires urgent attention from him.

Ben Anyama, the LC5 chairperson of Adjumani district 

We want the issue of Apaa border dispute solved. It has led to loss of lives and interfered with agricultural production, affecting the food distribution in the district.

Sabina Lekea, a vendor at Awindiri market 

Failure of the Government in solving the Apaa conflict, where the business centre gets food produce for sale, is an attack on our people.

Dominic Akuku, a boda boda rider at Awindiri market: 

The Government needs to address the issue of drug shortages at the health facilities and the inadequate number of staff and specialised equipment affecting the health care of the people.

Chandia Mary Lou, a resident of Paridi village 

The issue of teachers’ salaries, which has continued to affect the education of our children in the country, should be solved.