By KT Reporter
The week-long Gulu City October Festival has impacted the local economy with a contribution of 3 billion shillings. The event which kicked off on Monday October 6, 2025 concluded on Monday evening with traders significantly realizing good sales.
The seven-day event which featured a series of activities including athletics, motorsport, fashion show and cultural exhibition attracted 53, 000 people, well above the projected 35,000 who traveled from parts of Uganda and across the World to Kaunda Grounds.
Gulu Mayor Alfred Okwonga commended the business community for bringing goods and services in what he described as a seven- day open market.
“Your supports affirmed the values of cultural celebration as a tool for unity, economic growth and national pride,” he said. “Within this one week, the money that have gone into the hands of the community is more than 3 billion shillings.”
He added that all the equipment used was sourced locally to boost the local economy.
The Central Organizing Committee chairperson of the Festival Counsel Walter Okidi Ladwar said the region which is still coming out of the devastating impact of the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency needs more investment opportunities to recover.
“The dream was to make our people put some money into their pockets and when I saw a woman who was selling porridge got 850,000 shillings in just one hour, I was really excited and to me that was enough,” Ladwar noted.
Several people who spoke to Uganda Radio Network commended the event and asked the City Authority to gazette it as the national event.
One such seller is Joyce Laruni who deals in herbal medicines said: “We rented space at 150,000 shillings but I got a profit of 300,000 after the event.”
Pauline Akot, tailor at Gulu Main Market abandoned her shop for a week selling porridge, realizing a sale of 250,000 shillings each day from the week-long event.
Meanwhile, over the week, the hotels within Gulu City ran out of accommodations, highlighting the need for accommodation infrastructural development in the city.
“Here at Acholi Inn, we couldn’t find space for people” Maj. Gen. Otema Charles Awany, the Proprietor of Acholi Inn Hotel noted.
The Chairperson Gulu Indian Community and a Proprietor of Northern Pal Hotel similarly raised concern of limited accommodations within the city as numbers of visitors keep shooting up.
The Gulu City inaugural October Festival was celebrated under the theme” Celebrating Culture heritage in the context of Acholi traditions.
David Pulkol, a Technical Advisor with the Operation Wealth Creation attributed the enabling environment for businesses in the region to peace and security which he said needs to be protected.
“The region is the poorest in the country and the history is the conflict that lasted for more than twenty years here,” said Pulkol. “You now need to support Cooperatives so that people can grow together and fight this poverty. but most importantly, protect this peace.”
-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
