The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Rukiga, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Local leaders in Rukiga district are demanding autonomy in the management of the Uganda Multi-Sectoral Food Security and Nutrition Project (UMFSNP), which is under the Global Agricultural and Food Security Program (GAFSP).
The World bank supervises the nutrition-agriculture linked project, which delivers nutrition services at primary school and community levels. The project also supports the government’s efforts to explicitly link agriculture, nutrition, health, and education through school-based demonstration gardens and nutrition education.
Introduced in 2016, the project is so far running in 61 government primary schools in Kabale and 39 in Rukiga district. The government has so far injected Shillings 1.769 billion into the beneficiary primary schools in Kabale and Shillings 1.165 billion in primary schools in Rukiga.
On Wednesday, officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) assessed the progress of the project at Mparo Mixed primary school, Katungu in Mparo town council and Wacheba primary school in Kandago parish, Bukinda sub-county. They later met Rukiga officials, who expressed dissatisfaction about the decision by Kabale district authorities to continue holding onto the project.
Eriab Begumya Ntarwete, the Rukiga Chief Administrative Officer noted that ever since the project started, it has remained under the tight control of Kabale district authorities. He said that their efforts to draft a memorandum of understanding with Kabale district authorities and MAAIF on how Rukiga can take full control of the project under its jurisdiction didn’t yield results.
He said that they find it challenging to monitor the project in schools in Rukiga district because the available money is used to monitor primary schools in Kabale.
Robert Mbabazi Kakwerere, Rukiga LC5 chairperson questioned why Kabale district is still controlling the project yet Rukiga is an independent district. Kakwerere says that MAAIF needs to separate the project control so that Rukiga also gets full authority over it.
Gastone Muhereza, the Kashambya sub-county LCV councillor who also doubles as district production and marketing secretary, says that it is embarrassing to find Kabale district is the one that determines the project budget.
Jackeline Tumushabe, a science teacher and head of the project at Katungu mixed primary school in Mparo town council and Ambrose Niwahereza, a science teacher and head of the project at Wacheba primary school in Kandago parish, Bukinda sub-county, said there is no reason for such a project running in an independent district to be controlled by another district.
They explained that because the project is still under the control of Kabale district, they spend too much while travelling to Kabale to attend meetings and pick inputs like seeds.
In his response, Retired Major Fred Bwino Kyakulaga, State Minister for Agriculture in charge of Crop production said that by the time the project was designed, Rukiga was still under Kabale district. He called for calm and patience, saying that this has been a pilot study of the project.
Julius Twinamatsiko, the project’s national coordinator, said that with the assessment made in Kabale and Rukiga districts, the project is progressing. He said that in the coming phases, the ministry will forward the proposal of extending it to other schools and districts for consideration.
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