The National Planning Authority (NPA) has begun consultations with leaders in the Acholi Sub-region to develop a 10-year regional development plan aimed at addressing poverty, youth unemployment, poor social services and the lasting effects of decades of conflict.
The proposed Acholi Regional Development Plan (ARDP), covering 2025 to 2035 under the Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV), seeks to coordinate investments in agriculture, infrastructure, education, health, tourism, environmental conservation and post-conflict recovery.
During a consultation meeting in Kitgum Municipality on Thursday, NPA officials presented a draft plan outlining the region’s development challenges and economic potential. Stakeholders called for practical, locally driven solutions that respond to the needs of communities rather than relying solely on centrally designed government programmes.
Figures presented by the NPA team show that Acholi’s poverty rate stands at 20.5 per cent, above the national average of 16.1 per cent. Youth unemployment is estimated at 49.5 per cent, compared with 13 per cent nationally.
Education outcomes are also worrying. Only 28 out of every 100 children enrolled in Primary One complete primary education, compared with the national average of 45. The region’s reported Primary Leaving Examination pass rate stands at 21.4 per cent, while 78 per cent of households remain engaged in non-commercial economic activities.
The draft plan identifies seven interconnected development constraints: economic stagnation, weak human capital, fragile social cohesion, land disputes, inadequate infrastructure, environmental degradation, and gaps in governance and security. The NPA partly attributes the region’s challenges to colonial-era policies, post-independence violence and the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency, which forced communities into internally displaced persons’ camps and disrupted livelihoods.
The agency added that the figures highlight the need for targeted investments to address persistent development gaps and help Acholi catch up with other parts of the country. Chris Nokrach, the NPA team leader, said the draft plan was based on national surveys, previous studies and existing development frameworks but required further input from local communities to ensure it reflected their priorities.
He said the authority would consolidate the recommendations into proposals to guide investments over the next decade. The draft plan is expected to undergo further review before being submitted through the government’s approval processes and presented to Parliament to inform resource allocation.
Patrick Ocan, the deputy town clerk of Kitgum Municipality, welcomed the decision to consult the municipality separately from the district, saying urban authorities faced distinct development challenges that required specific attention. He urged stakeholders to speak openly about the region’s challenges, citing longstanding concerns about the lack of deliberate interventions to improve livelihoods.
“We have oftentimes been crying to government that there has not been a special or deliberate action towards the development or improving the livelihood or the life of people in Acholi Sub-region,” he said.
Ventorino Otto, the chairperson of the Service Projects Committee of the Rotary Club of Kitgum, called for sustainable skills development, policy reforms and greater use of local resources to reduce dependence on government and development partners.
“Our problem as Acholi is extraordinary; you cannot solve it with ordinary solutions,” Otto said, urging planners to develop innovative interventions suited to the region’s circumstances. He also questioned whether official unemployment figures adequately captured the economic realities of the population, arguing that some people classified as participants in the informal economy might not be earning enough to sustain their livelihoods.
Agricultural transformation emerged as a major priority during the consultations, with stakeholders identifying poor market access, limited value addition and inadequate processing facilities as key barriers to commercial farming.
Peter Opoka Opika, a resident of Oryang Ojuma A Village in Labongo Amda Sub-county, called for the establishment of regional marketing hubs and bulk-selling systems to help farmers secure better prices for their produce.
He argued that increasing agricultural production alone would not improve farmers’ incomes without reliable markets. He proposed clan-based and community-based economic initiatives to help households transition from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture.
Dr Gladys Oyat, a community leader in Kitgum Municipality, urged planners to promote perennial crops such as coffee and cashew nuts, strengthen farmer cooperatives and expand value addition to increase household incomes.
Robert Babu, head of the NGO Forum, called for wider access to artificial insemination services to improve livestock breeds and productivity, noting that small-scale farmers faced difficulties accessing existing services.
Babu called for the enactment of transitional justice legislation to provide a framework for reparations and other remedies for people affected by the conflict. He said affected families needed mechanisms to address losses suffered during the conflict, including the loss of livestock and other property.
Despite the challenges, the NPA says Acholi has considerable untapped potential in agriculture, livestock, tourism, minerals and cross-border trade with South Sudan. Stakeholders, however, cautioned that the plan’s success would depend on whether the consultation process translates into funded programmes, clearly assigned implementation responsibilities and measurable results.
They urged the government to ensure that the final document becomes a practical framework for improving livelihoods and expanding economic opportunities, rather than another development plan that remains unimplemented-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
