Dear All, Merry Christmas to you all, I wish you a rewarding and fulfilling New Year 2011.
With regard to the Barifa saga, I must add my voice to this development-cum-pathology that deserves a collective intervention. While a legal injunction may be a necessary first step in to this saga, we should, in my view, not be blinded in to believing some powerful investor dreamt and woke up suddenly to start clearing the forest for whatever the grand plan s/he has in mind. There must be someone within Arua municipality who has signed a deal, legitimate or otherwise, with the developers, some thing that is worth finding out prior to holding such persons/investors accountable to the public. The actual timing of this latest Barifa saga is one we can exploit to our advantage. That is, get the local and national politicians seeking (re)election to explain to us what is going on and how they can be part of the 'people's voice' in a way that can be construed as a quid pro quo for our votes. This is important because we cannot continue to be duped in to believing that some fallible, mere mortal is way above the law and can get away with dispossessing us of common public goods for personal gains. Yes we do need development in the region, but it is high time we were duly and rightfully treated as legitimate stakeholders and not mere externalities to be managed in whatever means is available. It may however be a prerequisite from next year onwards to further develop and implement the idea of the 'people's parliament' where such issues may be discussed in an open forum with all stakeholders so we can put questions directly to such 'investors' or their nominated representatives. Such discussions ought to be aired out live on one or more of the local fm stations- obviously with financial implications, but one to which contributions can be made by members. Further to the Barifa saga, it might be worth reflecting on the question of the Balaalu who have increasingly settled in the region, particularly in very remote parts. What seems to be an 'innocent act' today will, if we are not careful, in the future result in to a generation of landless people in our region, with unprecedented consequences. Thanks to all who have kept this forum alive through engaging discussions on issues that directly affect our region. Thanks also to those who have been supportive to members who lost loved ones throughout the year, your personal and emotional support has and will always be cherished. Very best wishes for 2011. Maureen Sent from my iPhone _______________________________________________ WestNileNet mailing list [email protected] http://orion.kym.net/mailman/listinfo/westnilenet WestNileNet is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/ All Archives can be found at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any way. _______________________________________________ -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.
