Gulu City authorities have ordered a fresh validation of individuals selected as beneficiaries under the cattle restocking programme.
This follows allegations of irregular registration by some Local Council chairpersons.
The directive was issued yesterday by the committee overseeing beneficiary registration after reports emerged that some local leaders had manipulated the process.
Registration, which began last month, targets 21 households across each of the 32 wards in Gulu City under the programme’s first phase.
During a meeting held yesterday at the city council hall, officials accused some Local Council leaders of violating guidelines by registering multiple beneficiaries from the same household.
John Charles Luwa, the Gulu City planner and focal person for the programme, says preliminary findings indicate that some Local Council I and II chairpersons registered between two and four of their relatives, in some cases including themselves.
He notes that most of the irregularities were reported in Bardege-Layibi Division, although he did not name specific individuals.
Luwa said that, following public complaints and the findings, the city council’s executive committee resolved on Wednesday to temporarily suspend registration in the affected wards.
However, the decision sparked anger from several Local Council chairpersons, who argue that despite volunteering their time in the registration process, they were being unfairly accused of corruption and excluded from benefiting.
Alex Okoya, LCII Chairperson of Labourline Ward in Laroo-Pece Division, accused the city executive committee of attempting to manipulate the lists by inserting preferred beneficiaries.
The cattle restocking programme, launched last year by President Yoweri Museveni, aims to boost household incomes and restore livestock lost during past insurgencies in the Teso, Lango, and Acholi sub-regions.
The government has earmarked 80 billion shillings for the programme’s first phase, which will be implemented over five years.
By URN
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