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Gulu, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Legislators from the Acholi Sub-region have asked entrepreneurs in Northern Uganda to tap business opportunities ahead of the regional Parliamentary sitting in Gulu City.
Parliament is set to hold outreach sittings covering the four traditional regions of Uganda which include; the North, Eastern, Western, and Central. The first regional sitting for the Northern region will be held on August 29 and August 30 at Kaunda Playgrounds in Bardege-Layibi Division in Gulu City.
The regional Parliamentary outreach is seen as a step towards bringing the plenary sessions closer to the local populace to closely follow the discussions held in the Parliament outside Kampala.
Martin Ojara Mapenduzi, the Bardege-Layibi Division Parliamentary Representative says that close to 1,000 people, more than half of whom are members of Parliament, Parliamentary staff, and Ministry officials will travel to the region to attend the plenary for the two days, and this is opportunity for business to thrive.
Mapenduzi says the population in Gulu should prepare to showcase what they have in terms of accommodation facilities, cuisine, and tourism so that they benefit from the opportunities coming in August.
Fr. Charles Onen, the Pece-Laroo Division Member of Parliament notes that legislators from the region recently met with the speaker of Parliament Anita Among to bargain on ring-fencing procurement of service providers from the region instead of Central Uganda.
He says their meeting has so far yielded fruits as one of three service providers in catering from the region has already been identified.
He, however, says that the regional parliamentary sitting will present an opportunity for leaders from the region to table a wide range of matters affecting the region.
For instance, Fr. Onen says they found glaring challenges that need urgent government intervention during their oversight visit to the Gulu Regional Referral Hospital. He intends to table concerns about the non-functional Computer Tomography (CT) scan which has been lying idle for the past three months and staff shortages at the facility.
Gulu City Woman Member of Parliament Betty Aol Ocan says that legislators from the region are due to hold a meeting to brainstorm on the issues to present during the regional plenary.
Aol highlights that matters already at hand that continue to plague the Acholi Sub-region are unresolved Land conflicts, cattle compensation to thousands of war debt claimants, a failing education sector, and growing poverty among households.
The regional Parliamentary sitting will be the first of its kind to be held outside Kampala since October 1962 when Parliament held its first sitting, a day after the country attained its independence.
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