Local leaders in Karamoja have accused government of not carrying out a comprehensive needs assessment to ascertain whether the distribution of goats and iron sheets would lift Karamoja Sub-region out of poverty.

During engagements with local leaders, specifically in Kotido District, it was revealed that no consultations were done by both the Office of the Prime Minister or central government ministries to ascertain whether goats and iron sheets were a priority to the Karimojong.

David Moding, the Longaroe Sub-county chairperson says the goats and iron sheets projects were not a demand-driven intervention, adding that these top-down approaches are failing because what is delivered is imposed onto the people without seeking to know what works for them.

According to him, the money spent on goats and the stolen iron sheets would have been given to groups to open large farms.

Nuria Ashraf Teko, Kotido District vice chairperson, advised that the government should have prioritised modernisation of agriculture by securing tractors for the communities to maximise production within the short planting seasons to address hunger, a perennial dilemma of the Karimojong.

The iron sheet distribution for the vulnerable in Karamoja turned controversial recently when the State House Anti-Corruption Unit arrested family members of Karamoja Affairs Minister Goretti Kitutu after they were allegedly caught selling the branded roofing materials.