When the office of the prime minister gave millions of Shillings to Agromax a company owned by Israelites to establish various irrigation projects in Karamoja, under Northern Uganda Social Action Fund (NUSAF3) funded by World Bank, there was a lot of of hope among the locals who believed that the Israelites who according to history are believed to be brothers of Jesus would not fail.
However the failure by these Israelites to make model farms for the people of Karamoja to learn from has actually made the people of Karamoja to believe that being mzungu is being immune to crime.
This website visited most of the sites where the Israelites had set up their demonstration gardens. However to our utter shock, what’s there in those gardens are just abandoned irrigation pipes, water tanks and a chain link fence.
In one of the sites visited by this website found in Amudat district, there are only vandalized tents for crops and other things without any single person.
Samson Lokeris the former member of Parliament for Dodoth East in Kaabong district says NUSAF3 project never created any change in Karamoja.
“I don’t know how those people managing Nusaf will again convince the World Bank to release more money for another project, honestly NUSAF3 was the most poorly performed project in Karamoja,” Lokeris told this website.
One of the residents Rymond Logwe of Amudat said when they saw the white men clearing their Amudat land, they expected a lot including having vegetables through out the year but this didn’t happen.
“These Agromax people just ate the money of Nusaf and went, in fact they have disappeared you don’t even see their vehicles around Amudat may be they are in Kampala,” Logwe wondered.
While Mark Lokut another resident proposed that when such projects are coming to Karamoja region, they should involve heavily the local community. According to Lokut most government projects have failed to change Karamoja simply because those who design the projects for Karamoja don’t consult the community.
“They just come and impose projects for us even when they have not asked us, we need to be consulted because the projects are aimed to help us, so we would be in position to know what will work for us and what will not work for us,” Lokut advised.
He also wandered why government hired Israelites to do activities that can be done by any other local persons with the consultation with the ministry of water or agriculture.
