A
COMMENT ABOUT THE CHANCES OF THE LRDP
What
is immediately noted when one reads the LRDP article is that it is over
ambitious, yet having too many areas to cover and with the hope of directly reaching
too many beneficiaries not forgetting that the district coverage is so big such
that administrative expenses will greatly eat up the would be resources to
benefit the disadvantaged. Rather
Government should have targeted poles of growth in the two regions on the base
of Agricultural Zones and support Agro-based industrialization such that the
produce in a specific zone can be marketed to an outlet where the farmer would
get a good return to his effort. 2ndly,
the practice of agriculture together with animal husbandry by households with
land resource has forwards and backwards linkages when it comes to animal waste
feeding the garden and the garden products like planted grass feeding the
animals together with backup of extension services as well as help in accessing
necessary inputs into the production process such that the farmer pays when he
makes sells are such efforts that can help the poor to get out of poverty.
It
is not clear how the LRDP will work with the Local Governments in the areas of
operation; whether some of the work plans will be within the district overall
work plans and whether there will not be duplication more so where the LRDP is
involved with Sectoral Interventions.
The LRDP is a 5 year Comprehensive
Development Plan designed to improve the livelihoods of the communities of the
Luwero Triangle and Rwenzori region having been affected by the National
Resistance Movement (NRM) Liberation struggle (Luwero) of 1981 – 1986 as well
as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) insurgency (Rwenzori) of 1996 – 2003. What defeats many of the interventions the
NRM Government has tried in the past including the NAADS programme is that
there is an attempt to want to directly interact with the poor by giving them
resources when available, unfortunately, the chain is not complete and a gap is
left at the end of it all, the would be beneficiary actually does not
benefit. I advocate for a comprehensive
package where for example the starting point happens to be a demonstration
garden to a village level, when the farmers learn technologies on this garden,
they are then able to implement the same on own gardens however with
facilitation of the necessary production inputs (seeds, pesticides, etc) as
well as continued support on the farm and finally assisted in marketing where
the produce is bought by the processor within the locality who would have to
pay cash on delivery or at fixed time intervals and recovery made for inputs
advanced. Such well connected programmes
can work to improve the welfare of the targeted communities.
The programme is open to all
community members actively engaged in economic activities. Special interest groups that include the
youth, widows, civilian veterans and ex-combatants, orphans and people with
disabilities are to be given priority consideration. Having the programme to include all the above
mentioned categories is more political than practical in the setting of the
LRDP. What is important is targeting
those who can be productive on land as a group or those who have agricultural
productive land; the balance can be helped when small industries are
established in the area, and so on.
The LRDP targets 40 districts from
Central and Western Uganda – what is interesting is that Kampala is focused on among the districts
targeted. This is wrong. Kampala is not
needy and if locally generated resources are well utilized plus the existing
investment climate, there is no reason why Kampala eats into the funding for the LRDP
which are disadvantaged. It should be
excluded and funds sent to the needy districts.
The overall Goal of the LRDP is to
redress the adverse socio-economic effects of the NRM liberation war (1981 –
1986) and the ADF insurgency of 1996 – 2003.
The overall Goal should be broadened to include getting the areas set to
meet the challenges of modernization and competition which is the driving force
in the fight against poverty.
The LRDP Programme Objectives among
others include improving the economic well being of 105 households per parish
in 523 parishes by enabling them to earn at least shs 20 million a year by 2015. This objective makes the picture in which the
people are simplistic which is not the case.
Some of the poor in these areas are simply not using their time well. A case in point is a youth who decides to
leave home and come to make chapati in an urban centre with a lot of
unproductive land left behind, a drunkard who takes alcohol at the wrong time
when he would be doing productive work; the sickly who need proper medication
to be able to engage in productive work and those who need adult functional
literacy training before they can engage in productive business ventures. This means that the earning should not be the
1st target, but re-orienting them so that they can eventually fit
the situation where they will be able to sustainably earn income which could
get anywhere to shs 20 million or more.
William
Kituuka Kiwanuka
The
LRDP is to benefit 40 districts (by 2010) and it’s a Community Empowerment Plan
to Achieve Prosperity for All.
Source:
The Premier Executive – A Quarterly News Letter of the Office of the Prime
Minister, Vol. 4 of 2010.
Article
by Frida Sengooba
The
Five Year shs 540.9 billion Luwero/Rwenzori Development Plan (LRDP) coordinated
by the Department of Luwero Affairs in the Office of Prime Minister, is a
Community Empowerment Plan to Achieve Prosperity for All. It was launched on two separate occasions;
one in Luwero and the other in kabarole district.
In
Kabarole district, the third Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal
Affairs, Alhaji Ali Kirunda Kivejinja launched the Plan on 22nd May
2010 at Rubona Primary School in Kisomoro
sub-county. The launch in Luwero
district was made on 28th May 2010 by the Minister of Local
Government, Hon. Adolf Mwesigye; this was at a function held at Kalasa Primary
School within Makulubita sub-county.
What
is Luwero/Rwenzori Development Plan (LRDP)?
The
LRDP is a 5 year Comprehensive Development Plan designed to improve the
livelihoods of the communities of the Luwero Triangle and Rwenzori region
having been affected by the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Liberation
struggle (Luwero) of 1981 – 1986 as well as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF)
insurgency (Rwenzori) of 1996 – 2003.
Target
Districts
The
LRDP targets 40 districts from Central and Western Uganda; they are: Buliisa,
Bundibugyo, Ntoroko, Hoima, Ibanda, Isingiro, Kabarole, Kalangala, Kampala,
Kamwenge, Kasese, Kayunga, Kibaale, Kiboga, Kyankwanzi, Kirihura, Kyenjojo,
Kyegegwa, Luwero, Lyantonde, Masaka, Bukomansimbi, Kalungu, Lwengo, Masindi,
Kiryandongo, others include: Mbarara, Mityana, Mpigi, Gombe, Mubende, Mukono,
Buikwe, Buvuma, Nakaseke, Nakasongola, Wakiso, Rakai, Sembabule and Gomba.
The
above districts were targeted because there was no comprehensive post war
recovery programme drawn to address the war effects.
The
Goal of LRDP
The
overall Goal of the LRDP is to redress the adverse socio-economic effects of
the NRM liberation war (1981 – 1986) and the ADF insurgency of 1996 – 2003.
The
LRDP Programme Objectives
1.
To
improve the economic well being of 105 households per parish in 523 parishes by
enabling them to earn at least shs 20 million a year by 2015,
2.
To
repair and improve the condition of 2,300 km district roads; 29,000 km
community access roads and 30 km urban roads to motorable state by 2015,
3.
To
increase the safe water coverage of 11 districts which are below the national
level coverage to 65% by 2015,
4.
To
protect and sustainably manage the environment,
5.
To
increase access to renewable energy to service delivery points and rural growth
centres by 2015,
6.
To
ensure that there is a Government aided primary school and secondary school in
all parishes,
7.
To
improve the health service delivery,
8.
To
increase access and use of Information and Communication Technology in the
regions,
9.
To
promote peace, reconciliation and strengthen community based conflict
mitigation and management within communities.
The
LRDP Programme Time Frame
It
is a 5 year Development Recovery intervention whose full scale implementation
is effective July 2010 in all the 40 districts.
A Pilot Programme was implemented in 15 districts; 60 sub – counties and
240 parishes in 2009/10 Financial Year.
Targeted
beneficiaries
The
programme is open to all community members actively engaged in economic
activities. Special interest groups that
include the youth, widows, civilian veterans and ex-combatants, orphans and
people with disabilities are to be given priority consideration. Those benefiting from other Government
programmes like NAADS, restocking and the like will not benefit directly.
Funding
The
overall budget of the Programme is shs 540.9 billion to be contributed to by
Uganda Government and Development Partners.
The
LRDP has two broad intervention components namely; the Community and Sectoral.
The
Community Intervention
This
forms the foundation of the LRDP and shall be community led. It will be funded through community grants
and directly implemented activities all aimed at enhancing household income and
access to services. The interventions
emphasize household income enhancement.
This aims at enabling households to increase their incomes to a gross of
at least shs 20 million a year.
Focus
will be on promoting increased agricultural produce and productivity, value
addition, processing and marketing, support to small and medium scale
enterprises, social mobilization and empowerment of vulnerable groups.
Sectoral
Interventions Component
This
will address roads, water, environment, energy, education, health and ICT.
1)
Roads:
District roads, community access roads and urban road surfacing.
2)
Water:
Support construction of safe water points (boreholes, protected springs,
shallow wells, gravity flow schemes and rain water harvesting tanks).
3)
Environment:
Support districts and sub – counties to produce environment action plans (DEAP,
SEAP), mobilize and sensitize communities on environmental protection and
management issues and support private individuals to establish tree nurseries
in the programme areas.
4)
Energy:
Working with electricity distribution companies to select and install 85 step
down transformers in rural townships along the main electricity grid, support
biogas development and install 80 biogas units, provide 180 Government and
Community institutions with solar power and support the construction of 375 kms
of power lines (Mubende – Myanzi, Mubende – Kyenjojo, Wakyato – Ngoma).
5)
Education:
Support construction of 74 primary schools in parishes without Government aided
primary school, construction of 10 high-rise classroom blocks in the 5 divisions
of Kampala, construction of 50 secondary schools in sub-counties without a
Government aided secondary school, construct 158 teachers’ houses in schools
where attracting and retaining teachers is difficult, build boarding facilities
in three existing girls’ secondary schools in Bulemezi, Bunyoro and Rwenzori
and support rehabilitation of eight secondary schools destroyed during the war.
6)
Health:
Upgrade 10 Health centre IVs to General
Hospital status and support 30 Health
Centre VIs and 70 Health Centre IIIs with
staff houses and other equipment.
7)
Information
and Communication Technology: Establish 36 Community Information Centres, equip
50 secondary schools and three girls’ boarding secondary schools with computer
laboratories together with Internet, and support 10 hospitals, 30 health Centre
IV’s and 70 Health Centre III’s with computers and Internet connectivity.
LRDP
Implementation Modalities
Management,
coordination and implementation of the LRDP will follow the existing Government
structures. Office of the Prime Minister
(OPM) will oversee and coordinate all the LRDP interventions under the auspices
of the Minister of State for Luwero Triangle.
Technical Management will be by the Permanent Secretary in the Office of
the Prime Minister to provide policy direction, ensure standards, resource
mobilization, guidelines, monitoring and evaluation.
A
Programme Management Unit has been established to coordinate and facilitate the
LRDP.
At
the Local Government level, the Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs) working
closely with the political and technical leadership in their respective
districts will be responsible for programme implementation.
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