The National Economic Empowerment Dialogue (NEED) leader Joseph Kabuleta has told the people of Lango Sub Region that government has failed to compensate them after losing their property during the Lord Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency because it wants to keep them poor.
In 2010, President Yoweri Museveni promised monetary compensation to over 10,000 victims of the two-decade-long war between the LRA and the government but up to date nothing has ever been done.
Lango sub-region is currently divided into nine districts of Alebtong, Amolatar, Apac, Dokolo, Kole, Lira, Oyam, Otuke and Kwania District and locals here mainly rely on land as the key economic asset.
Addressing the people of Lango on Friday, the former presidential candidate said the sub region is one of the under developed areas in Uganda and this is because government has paid less attention to economically empower the locals.
“I understand that most of you lost your property such as houses, cattle and land. Some of you are now refugees as a result of Museveni’s war with LRA rebels. Government promised to compensate you but up to date, it has never done so. This is a deliberate move to keep you in poverty,” Kabuleta said.
He further rallied the Lango people to demand for their fair share of the national cake, if they want to elleviate themselves from poverty.
“The deteriorating education and health systems in the area are also indicators that government has not played its role in developing Lango. You should not sleep, stand up and demand for what rightly belongs to you; That’s the fair share of the national cake.”
NEED, is currently on a nationwide sensitization campaign premised on protecting Uganda’s national deposits that could be used by citizens to alleviate themselves from poverty.
They have so far managed to spread the economic empowerment message to Buganda, Bugisu, Bukedi, Teso, Sebei and Lango sub-regions.
Last year in September, Kabuleta launched NEED with an aim of promoting economic empowerment among Ugandans.
He said the political movement is constituted of politicians who currently hold no office but have influence in their respective sub-regions and are able to start meaningful discussions that could see Ugandans fight for their resources.