“BUNDIBUGYO ENTHENIC COMMUNITIES REACH A TURNING POINT TO SUSTAINABLE PEACE”

A land mark has been set today, the 28^th/09/2015 by Bundibugyo District Peace Gurus who were facilitated by Good Hope Foundation for Rural Development to conduct joint Distrtict level Peace Meeting bringing together representatives of the Bakonzo and Bamba communities to discuss sustainable Conflict prevention strategies.

The Meeting held in Bundibugyo Town Council fetched participants from Bughendera County dorminated by Bakonzo and Bwamba County dominated by Bamba. It was chaired by The Rt Hon. Mubulya Wilson the Prime Minister Obudhingiya bwa Bwamba (OBB) and attended by other Government officials including; The Resident District Commissioner Mr. Mucunguzi Geoffrey and the District Internal Security Officer Mr.Mwesigwa Sam.

District Peace promotion stakeholders after an intensive meeting

It was uncovered in the Meeting that the cause of tension in Bundibugyo is largely attributed to;

• Lack of Mutual respect among the different tribes in Bundibugyo.

• Forgetting the History of Blood friendship between Bakonzo and Bamba

• Miss-use of Media and social platforms by majorly the Youths.

• Political self interests. The RDC hinted that unless leaders change, local people will continue suffering innocently.

•  Fight for superiority among the tribes in the District.
• Lack of Transparent and sincere Elders who would be talking the truth to the youth about the relationship between the different communities in the District.

Together for Peace group photo

According to the RDC, “When personal interests supersede the interests of the community, the local people suffer most” 

RDC Mr.Mucunguzi Geofrey emphasizing on Peaceful co-existance

He brought it to light that according to intelligence information, there are very few individuals in Bundibugyo District dividing the ignorant local people for their political interests. 

 

The DISO Mr.Mwesigwa Sam educating Participants on the relation between Peace and Security

The Following resolutions were made that will contribute to sustainable Peace, closely monitored by different stakeholders;

• A self facilitated fourteen (14) members Peace committee has been established, Seven from Bakonzo and seven from Bamba communities. Resident District Commissioner(RDC), District Internal Security Officer(DISO), District Police Officer(DPC) and Obudhingiya Bwa Bwamba(OBB), Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu (OBR) Representatives will be x-officials.

• The RDC together with the Elders from the two communities to utilize the Airtime offered to RDC’S Office by Development Fm on every Tuesday of the Week (6-7pm), Preaching Peace and other related development issues.
•  RDC and DISO to organize Peace sensitization Meetings at Sub-county levels with close consultation of the cultural institutions and Good Hope Foundation as a partner. This will start with effect from October 2015.

The Bakonzo Community representative sharing key causes of tension in the District

The Bamba Community Representative also sharing his Version of key casuses of Tension in Bundibugyo

In the RDC's closing remarks,he thanked Good Hope Foundation for the unique community mechanism Peace building strategy and promised to offer full support to the actions geared towards bringing sustainable Peace and Development to Bundibugyo District.

“BUNDIBUGYO CULTURAL LEADERS DECIDE ON PEACE”-PARTNERSHIP FOR PEACE, DIGNITY FOR ALL.

 

OBB Cultural leaders after the meeting

Light Descended on Bundibugyo District residents when Good Hope Foundation for Rural Development conducted what some participants called a memorable meeting that brought together all Obudhingiya Bwa Bwamba (OBB) Ministers to discuss strategies of laying a peace foundation in Bundibugyo District. This was conducted on 26^th/09/2015 at MBC Conference Hall near the King’s Palace in Bundibugyo Town Council.

Among the participants included; The Prime Minister who chaired the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister, The Speaker of the Kingdom’s parliament, Ministers in-charge of; Youth, Mineral resources, Education, Special interest groups, Health, Gender/Resource Mobilization, Trade and other elders.

Good Hope Staff, posing for a photo with OBB Ministers

From the various deliberations by the elders present, the following were highlighted as key causes of Conflicts in the District;

• Identity and forgetting the Bakonzo -Bamba History.

• The new entrants whom the Bamba sell land turn against them and tend to become superior. The superiority struggle causes tension.

• Disrespect among the tribes in the District.

• Political interests for selfish motives.

•  Tempering with the voters’ register has also turned into an issue antagonizing peace. Numbers have been inflated in the register which may culminate into a conflict in-case of un agreeable election results.

• Forgetting the genesis of Rwenzururu struggle, and failing to understand that it was a movement against Toro dominance against Bakonzo and Bamba, but not a tribal Kingdom.

• Corruption tendencies by IGG, whose reports do not meet the interests of the local people, but interests of those in offices.

• Connivance among the Bakonzo in Bundibugyo with those in Kasese to disorganize the other tribes in Bundibugyo.

• The Gender Minister re-iterated that she was in the District Council when a minute to recognize OBR was passed, but when the Bamba-Babwisi and Vanuma wanted to have their cultural institution recognized, Bakonzo could not welcome the idea and started fighting all plans.

•   Health Minister also pointed a figure on some influential politicians in the District as people to account for the lack of peace in the District. They divide people for their self-political interests.

A section of Ministers During the Meeting

•   The Youth Minister also classified the causes of conflicts in the District into; political, social and economical. Propaganda among the tribes in the political, social and economic lines has accelerated conflict. Propaganda of marginalization, political influence has divided the different tribes, causing tension.
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Enough is enough!! Elders unanimously resolved that the following should be done to bring back the peace and sustain it;                              

•  Emphasis should be put on Joint dialogue meetings of Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu and Obudhingiya Bwa Bwamba representatives/members

• Government involvement of local communities in Peace building activities. For example, when the July 5^th 2014 attackers were given amnesty, the procedure used was not clear to the local people

• Intensive community sensitization and mobilization on peace.

• Having joint ecumenical prayers

• The youth should be engaged in peace building initiatives and taught the history of the ethnic groups on Mt Rwenzori.

• Reminding people of  the blood relationship between Bakonzo and Bamba
• Encouraging tribal inter-marriages as a strategy of Peace building and strengthening. 

Good Hope Staff giving remarks before OBB Ministers. The Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Speaker to the OBB Parliament, looking on.

The prime minster Rt Hon. Mubulya Wilson informed members that peace engagement meetings just started and that  engagements between OBB and Good Hope Foundation together with RWECO as an Umbrella  consortium must continue until peace is realized in the District.

DISTRICT JOINT TRACKING EXERCISE REVEALS SERVICE DELIVERY “POTHOLES”.

On 16^th and 17^th September 2015 was a joint Vertical Tracking exercise that involved Ntoroko District leaders and Good Hope staff members took place in two lower local Governments of; Karugutu and Kanara Town councils targeting four Primary schools in each Town council and Two Health Centers. In general, Seven (7) schools and three Health centers were visited.

The exercise was aimed at jointly Tracking Sectoral Budgets allocations from the District level to the service delivery sites, and collecting and analyzing data from Schools and Health centers to ascertain the effectiveness of service delivery in the District and give necessary recommendations aimed at improving service delivery.

Good Hope Staff together with the District Health Educator, interviewing the Karugutu Health Centre IV Records Officer.

Among others, the District Health officer, District Education officer, District Inspector of schools, District Health Educator, Community Senior Development officer, and twelve community based monitors from the two Town councils participated at different levels in the exercise.

District Health Educator and CDO in The Karugutu Health Centre IV Records Office

Key findings from the Education and Health Departments;

Projects in the Education sector that require co-funding

According to the D.E.O, Since the Inception of Ntoroko District, the Central government has failed to support;

• Co-curricular activities like ball-games, athletics and MDD at district and National levels.
• School Facility Grants have barely been sufficient to put up enough classrooms, staff quarters and toilets.
•  To date, the District has failed to purchase a vehicle and motorcycles for the department of Education. These are some of the reasons why the academic performance has not been to the expected level.
• The department still needs co-funding in the area of Water facilities like Rain Water Harvesting tanks, bore holes and piped water.

Budget performance for the last 3 financial years

·         Because of under remittances from both Central Government and development partners like UNICEF and Save the Children International, The District was only able to achieve to an average of 96% of its budgets. In FY 2013/2014 there were cuts in SFG from over shs.700 millions to shs.190 millions, and UNICEF and Save the Children did not meet some of their commitments.

Challenges experienced by the District in meeting the policy goals on delivering the priorities of the Education sector

Inspector of Schools in-charge of Special needs Education, meeting Teachers at Brain Model Primary School in Kanara Town Council during the Vertical Tracking Exercise

•  Inadequate qualified Teachers in primary Schools (especially in the new curriculum) and secondary schools (especially in areas of English language and Sciences).

•     Under staffing in DEO’s office
•       Inadequate Teachers’ houses in all learning spaces
•       Inadequate sanitary facilities in all learning spaces
• Inadequate funding especially in the inspectorate sector and support for co-curricular activities in the District.
• High school dropout rates
• Inadequate co-funding for Education programe
•  Lack of libraries and sufficient scholastic materials.
•   Lack of sporting infrastructures
•   Negative attitude towards education by the communities
•   Games teachers lack knowledge and skills to carryout co curricular activities.
•   Lack of mid-day meals especially for learners.

Recommendations for better service delivery in the Education sector/department

• Introduction of incentives/allowances for Teachers in hard to reach schools

• Enforcing the policy of payment of the Ugx 10,400/= in Town Council based Government aided schools to support Teachers.
• Construction of more Teachers houses, classrooms and sanitation facilities
• Communities to be encouraged and guided on construction of Teacher’s houses using local materials
• Lobbying Development partners to support the Education Road map.
• The Ministry of Education and Sports should give special consideration to Ntoroko in respect to SFG
• Develop an Education Ordinance to control/reduce on animals loitering in schools, school drop outs and early marriages/ defilement of girl children; and also for school feeding programme.
• Games Teachers should be trained or given refresher courses in co-curricular courses.

     The Joint Tracking team also visited Two Public Health centers; Karugutu Health Centre IV and Ntoroko Health Centre III, and One Private Health Centre; Stellamaris both in Ntoroko District.

Ntoroko Health Centre

 

Clinical Officer at Ntoroko Health Centre III attending to a patient

The Following key challenges were discovered as hindrances to effective health service delivery;

• Congestion by patients especially at Karugutu Health Centre IV in the OPD and in the Wards
• Inadequate staff Houses. According to some staff interviewed At Karugutu Health Centre for example, they share rooms. At Ntoroko Health centre, only six (6) rooms are habitable for the fifteen (15) Health workers.
• No Vaccine refrigerator at Stellamaris
• Inadequate strong source of electricity to power strong medical machines. In Kanara Town council for example, the only source of power is solar and Generators.
• For all Health centers in Kanara Town council, there is no referral system for proper health problems management. This is a risky condition to patients, No standby ambulance.
• Inadequate supplies of drugs at all Health Units. At Ntoroko Health Centre for example by 20^th/09/2015 all quarterly drugs delivered in August, 2015 will be out of stock, according to the clinical officers interviewed.
• Lack of clean and reliable water. At Ntoroko Health centre, the water tanks installed by the Town council affected the one installed by UNICEF and completely no water flows. This has affected the whole town. There was an engineering error by the Town council.

 

Staff House, accomodating two Health Workers at Ntoroko Health Centre III

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The best Staff House at Ntoroko Health Centre III

Recommendations to improve on service delivery at Health Centers.

• There is an urgent need for Budget allocations at National or District levels to address challenges of inadequate staff Houses, Recruitment of key staff to work in theatre at Karugutu Health Centre IV,  and budgeting for hard to reach allowances to staff working in Kanara Town council. It is a hard to reach and leave community.
• Access to clean water is generally a challenge to the health centers visited. Priority needs to be given to rehabilitating or installing reliable water sources for improved health. The water source system engineering at Ntoroko HCIII needs to be repeated urgently.
• Possibly, Kanara Town council could attach its Vehicle to the Health centre to play the ambulance role  or purchase an ambulance specifically for the Town council, otherwise in case of an emergency, there are high chances of losing life given the hard to reach nature of the community and absence of an Ambulance.
• An action is also urgently needed towards increasing on quarterly drug supplies from National medical stores to health centers through the District to Match the current population.NMS seems to be having  different population figures from the actual ones served by the health centers. This has escalated drug stock outs.

 

Bath room at the Ntoroko Health Centre III Staff Quarters

 

Un Functional Water Tanks badly installed at the Health Centre.The Engineering work needs to be repeated.

The Joint Vertical tracking exercise that is too fundamental in updating stakeholders on the key strides in Education and Health sectors using the two Lower local Governments as case studies must increase Leaders’ concerns on improving service delivery in the District basing on their first hand field findings and this will result into a District Feedback meeting to discuss the key field findings and come up with key resolutions aimed at reversing the adverse situations above.