President Yoweri Museveni, who is also the National Resistance Movement (NRM) presidential candidate, has temporarily halted the cash-based cattle restocking programme for households in Northern Uganda.
The decision comes barely a month after the Cabinet resolved to provide Shs5 million in cash rather than live animals to every household in the Acholi, Lango, and Teso sub-regions affected by past insurgencies and cattle rustling.
The government had earmarked Shs80 billion for the programme, with each beneficiary expected to use the funds to purchase five cows.
Announcing the Cabinet decision in late December last year, in Gulu city, the State Minister for Northern Uganda Rehabilitation said the restocking would run alongside compensation for war debt claimants.
The registration for beneficiaries had already started at the village level, pending further cabinet approval on implementation for fund disbursement into individual bank and mobile money accounts.
However, speaking in Gulu City on Friday, President Museveni said confusion arose in the Acholi Sub-region over which beneficiary lists should be used for disbursing the funds soon after the money was earmarked.
The President acknowledged that while the war spilled over into Lango and Teso, its greatest impact was felt in Acholi, hence the Cabinet’s decision to pursue both restocking and compensation for war debt claimants in the sub-region.
He adds however, that the existing list of war debt claimants has challenges, and with the ongoing campaign season, the programme has been paused to allow for proper consultations.
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