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�Poverty Fuels Kony War�
By Lillian Nalumansi
The area manager of Accord, an international non governmental organisation committed to the peace process in northern Uganda has said poverty was the main reason why the insurgency has dragged on for 16 years.
George Omona, whose Kampala office has relocated to Gulu following the escalation of the insecurity, said the Government should not ignore poverty as a major underlying cause of the rebellion.
�Even if Kony went tomorrow, the insecurity in northern Uganda would continue. The Government should be committed to investing in northern Uganda so that the people there regain hope.
� Over 66% of the population in northern Uganda live below the poverty line. People there have lost hope and believe the gun is what will bring wealth,� Omona told a press conference at Regency Hotel, Bakuli, during a workshop on conflict in the Great Lakes region, last week.
�Extreme poverty in the region was a manifestation of social injustice. It is not just about talking to Kony that will bring about peace in northern Uganda. Until the Government understands the nature of conflict there, peace will remain elusive,� Omona said.
Participants came from Uganda, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania.
The wokshop centred on enlightening participants with donors priorities in the Great Lakes Region so that they could develop a more systematic resource mobilisation method.
Accord�s funding director Naftali Onchere based in the United Kingdom said it was necessary to involve communities.
�Governments alone cannot bring about peace. The communities themselves should be involved since they watched the conflict start and therefore have better answers to solving it.�
Accord dates to 1980, as an emergency agency concerned with drought in Sahel region but developed into a consortium of international NGOs responding to conflicts in the Great Lakes region. Ends
Published on: Tuesday, 26th November, 2002 |
