KARAMOJA: Where desolation and poverty reigns amid 'hidden' treasure

By Irene Nakasiita

Today at church, we were praying for the marginalised groups in the country and one of my friends was wondering how many more ethnic groups fall under that category apart from the Batwa: I rushed to mention the Karimojongs, and another voice from the back loudly said “No”.

 “A marginalized group is poor, but Karamoja has a lot of wealth, they have probably not yet realised how rich they are,” she added.

LAND OF HIDDEN TREASURE:
A young Karimojong girl working in the mines .

This special prayer meeting reminded me of the presentation we did in class about minority groups in Uganda.

One of the reasons that make such groups to be termed as “minority” is the fact that they are underprivileged. However, research has it that Karamoja is one of the wealthiest regions of Uganda. It has great mineral deposits and vast land. A great Uganda might sprout out of Karamoja.

But one wonders, despite this great wealth, no one in Parliament was ready to be the minister for Karamoja. The First Lady, Mrs. Janet Museveni, who is also MP for Ruhama County, is said to have volunteered to serve in this “unwanted” position, and seems to be thriving.



CALL OF DUTY OR GOLD RUSH:
Janet Museveni greeting Karimojong women.



On March 9, 2009 Museveni explained his wife’s ministerial appointment to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that: “Since many of our elite ministers did not want to work in Karamoja, I asked Janet to help me develop one of the backward areas of our country.”

As if his wife would be insecure there, the same president appointed his half-brother, in the position of presidential advisor on defense matters, Salim Saleh a.k.a Caleb Akandwanaho, to oversee implementation of security in the land.

Until now, no minister seems to feel better enough to succeed Janet in ministering to the “underprivileged” region. Just like Karamoja, many other regions in the country are in a destitute state ye t they are naturally gifted and blessed with great resources.

A PROUD PEOPLE: A typical Karimojong warrior.

It is just a matter of the country’s leadership being good stewards of the country’s resources and Uganda will take off to the economic stratosphere. Apparently, the programmes running in northern Uganda are not anywhere near gold mining rather too agricultural. Food security is not the only rapid response needed in the land to curb poverty.

The leadership however, has been focusing too much on the NAADS programmes rather than opening the eyes of the locals to the great gold deposits in Kaboong and other parts.

"We want to see how (local people's) minds can be engaged in production so that they are not at the periphery but participating in development alternatives," said Pius Bigirimana, permanent secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister.

However, one wonders how the local people will benefit from the wealth in their land. Since much activity has not taken place, let’s watch and pray for the best out of this.

Irene Nakasiita is a second year Masters Student at Makerere University, Department of Journalism & Mass Communication.