Analysis: First 100 Days of the new Minister for Karamoja Affairs

Introduction

111 Days ago, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni surprised the country by reshuffling his cabinet of Ministers. A move that left many so called experts who had long predicted and speculated on the reshuffle, dumbfounded by the timing and names involved.

If the NRM still has military roots then this move would be likened to a Friday night sunset raid on the media industry. Instead of the army the President relied on his Press Corps and Media team to relay the news just 30 or so minutes before the 9 o’clock news. Within minutes all stories that week were drowned out as Conventional media, social media and political commentators hurriedly prepared responses and analyses. The reshuffle affected most of the country, however for purposes of time and analysis we will look at the who, what where and why of his deployments to Karamoja sub-region.

Though it has taken us time, we took time to critically look at Minister Lokeris’ engagements in Karamoja in his first 100 days. We will not only look at the decision, its impacts but also give you his profile for those that may not know him.

History of Karimojong in Government Service

Despite being a small minority, currently at 1.45 million people Karamoja has had several High-Ranking Officials in the Governments of Obote 1&2, Amin and even under NRM. In the 60s to 80s Names such as hon. Joshua Akol, hon. William Naburi, hon. Edward Athiyo, hon. Yash Tandon and others all made a great impact on a new generation of Karimojong. In the 90s and 2000s Karamoja has had General Lakara Nakibus, General Andrew Gutti, General Paul Lokech, Former Director General ESO hon. David Pulkol, Minister Lokeris Teko Peter, Minister Simon Lokodo and a host of brilliant minds such as Dr. Robert Limlim, Dr. Johnson Ngorok, Muzee Cornelius Lorika Kodet and a host of others who for time we may not name today but will surely write about in our upcoming book on Karamoja and the leaders that shaped it

Currently Karamoja has 3 Ministers in the cabinet of Uganda Namely

-        Minister of Karamoja Affairs – hon. Lokeris Teko Peter

-        Minister of State for Industrial Relations hon. Esther Anyakun Divina Anyakun

-        Minister of State for Ethics and Integrity hon. Akello Rose Lilly

Who?

Hon. Peter Teko Lokeris aka (Aimat) is a Veteran 77-Year-Old Karimojong elder and accountant by profession. He is married to the wonderful Mrs. Aisu Elizabeth. He is the current Member of Parliament for Chekwa County. A seat he has held since 1996. This has led many leaders to regard him as a respected elder.

Like most leaders of his generation his story is one of humble beginnings. Born in Pian county in (Nakapiripirit District today) to Mr. Teko Apa-oroma and Mrs. Namoni-Angitiang. By God’s grace he managed to survive numerous obstacles and managed to study and earn the following;

-        Bachelors Degree of Commerce from Makerere University

-        Diploma in Finance from the Uganda Management Institute in Kampala.

-        Master of Science in Marketing from Makerere University

-        Master of Arts in Peace and Conflict Studies from Makerere University.

Work experience

Peter Lokeris started his working career has worked as;

-        A cashier.

-        Internal Auditor for Moroto District

-        Chief Accountant for Kotido District

-        Administrative Secretary for Moroto District

-        Special district administrator in the districts of Moroto, Kasese and Jinja.

-        Special presidential advisor on peace and development of Karamoja and its neighboring regions.

In 1996, he entered active politics, contesting and winning the parliamentary seat of Chekwii County in Nakapiripirit District. During that same year, he was appointed as Minister of State for Karamoja, while his Predecessor Hon. David Pulkol was transferred to the External Security Organization

He has consistently maintained his position during numerous cabinet reshuffles and has served as a

-        Minister of State for Primary Education.

-        Minister of State for Minerals

-        Minister of State for Works

Why now?

Based on the nation’s developmental trajectory the Government is shifting its policy from Aid and Charity to trade and prosperity. With a vision of moving our economy from $50 billion USD to one of $500 billion, this will involve radical change and strategic investments in boosting national production both in quality and quantity as well as market linkages.

President Museveni for a long time has stated growth sector priorities for the government of Uganda are in Commercial Agriculture, Eco-Tourism and Mineral development (ATMs) in addition to ICT/Telecommunications and services industries such as hospitality, banking, construction, and real estate.

This journey will not be easy however given that Uganda is transitioning from an armed struggle to an economic one the government needed a new approach to combat the new enemy called poverty especially in northern and South Western Uganda where the armed struggle ended.

The UPDF has a different mandate from other militaries. The role of National Security Institutions is enshrined in Uganda's Constitution (1995) as amended. In the Constitution, the functions of the Uganda Peoples' Defense Forces are to:

(1) preserve and defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Uganda;

(2) co-operate with the civilian authority in emergencies and in cases of natural disasters;

(3) foster harmony and understanding between the Defense Forces and civilians;

(4) engage in productive activities for the development of Uganda.

It is in point number four that President Museveni decided to treating poverty like an enemy force and launched a full-scale Military Operation codenamed Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) and various other programs such as Development Initiative For Northern Uganda(DINU), Peace Reconstruction and Development Plan(PRDP), Northern Uganda Social Action Fund(NUSAF), Karamoja Integrated Disarmament and Development Plan(KIDDP) and others across the country.

Though this war has not been perfect as the battlefield shifts from the bush to gardens and from bullets to Household Incomes for the ordinary people, it must be pointed out that in this war against poverty Uganda has had many casualties. The country has lost hundreds of billions and some programs did not perform as expected while others were mismanaged and in others funds were diverted from intended beneficiaries such as Ghost SACCOs etc.

It is through this process of transforming the NRM historical role in Uganda’s history from peacebuilding and firefighting to setting the firm foundation with which the nation can build on and in addition to further campaign consultations and meetings with leaders and stakeholders from Karamoja that the President after 2021 issued strategic directives to OWC on transforming Karamoja.

We had written in depth about that and should you wish to refresh yourself, kindly check out the article on Karamoja Development Planning

https://www.karamojatrumpet.com/post/karamoja-are-we-planning-to-fail-or-failing-to-plan-looking-at-govt-and-ngos-from-2019-to-date

Why them?

Since then, there have attempts to tap the regions vast resources. The first team included a former Minister of Energy. Hon. Dr. Kitutu and once again President Museveni has tapped hon. Lokeris as the one he feels can achieve the objectives of transforming Karamoja.

It is also interesting to note that Hon. Esther Anyakun, a long serving NRM Minister has been transferred to Industrial Relations within the Ministry of Gender, Labor, and Social Development (MoGLSD). This signals that the NRM seeks to invest heavily in scaling up production and industry in Karamoja sub-region.

The Picture to the left shows Minister Lokeris and Minister Anyakun in the background as President Museveni breaks ground on a USD 400 Million factory currently being built in Moroto.

Can they succeed?

Even as a Minister of State for Minerals Hon. Lokeris would consistently attend important events that pertained to Karamoja’s Peace and Security for example the 2022 Karamoja Regional Council, the various rounds of Turkana-Karamoja Peace Talks and the Ateker Development Conference in Nairobi last year.   He has always cared.

Despite some lingering accusations of land grabbing in Kiryadongo (2021) and Nakapiripirit Districts (2018) we have not seen or heard any fresh accusations against him and to the contrary he appears to be going the extra mile to work with Karimojong researchers, professionals, youth, political establishment, and security teams for transforming the region.  

First 100 Days Analysis

The Minister has been very busy and it is difficult to keep track of all his movements however we have found that the bulk of his time and public appearances are as follows;

1.      Strategizing for development projects with Karamoja’s leaders and professionals

-        Meetings with Karamoja Professionals and various leaders at the National and Sub-national levels

2.      Working with State House, and leaders to ensure adequate investments enter the region

-        Tororo Cement and other investor meetings

3.      Launching Government Projects In the region.

-        Launching the Construction Materials Testing Lab

-        Passing out the State House Skilling Hub Graduants

4.      Engaging Security Personnel and peace actors for improved peace and security.

-        Participating in various peace, disarmament and security coordination meetings.