{UAH} IDDI AMIN NEVER TARGETED LANGIs/ACHOLIs, THEY TARGETED HIM {---Series two-Hundred and twelve}

Friends

Some of us refuse to  live in violence because it has long term effects. Some of those side effects are short term but some a very long term that no one has ever succeeded for he ignored them. Jessica Banfield with Jana Naujoks of International Alert, went into Uganda and only limited their study on The Recovery of Northern Uganda. They wrote a thesis under a heading Enabling peace economies through early recovery – Perspectives from Uganda. We are posting from page 14.

Ugandans we need to discuss Acholi violence candidly

4. Northern Uganda's economy today – Legacies of

conflict

'For us when the war started, we had to sell our chickens, goats and sheep. In the

camps where we were going; there was no place we could keep. We ate, the money it

got finished and we started begging'. (Women FGD, Amuru District)

'…Everything was abandoned: crops in the gardens; those in the house, even shops

would be left just like that. We would only mind about our lives and not crops or

animals. Some who were lucky sold their things first and then moved to the camps.

The whole day we would do nothing but sit and wait for World Food Programme to

give us food…' (Men FGD, Lira District)

 

Traditionally, the Northern region's economy was dependent on agriculture, specifically animal

rearing and food crops. With large-scale displacement spanning a decade, this is no longer the

case, and until recently, production has been very low. Survey findings show the dramatic effect

conflict has had on crop cultivation: regarding the effect of conflict on economic activities,

complete cessation of cultivation was rated at 81 percent by survey respondents, while grievous

harm and theft of livestock followed with a rating of 12.5 percent.38 As a result, a population that

had previously not only been self-reliant but provided the rest of Uganda with basic foodstuffs,

became dependent on food aid, while other regions of Uganda have benefited by meeting the gap

in supply.39

 

It is clear that while some individuals profited during the LRA conflict as discussed above, many

local businesses lost goods, property, money and even lives. Businesses in trading centres were

regularly targeted by LRA rebels for supplies or money, shops were robbed, and vehicles ambushed

and destroyed. Insecurity further isolated the region from the rest of the country. High transport

costs, corruption among UPDF officers, and other risks associated with the movement of goods

and people have all been recorded.40 Local businesspeople have also cited tensions and resentment

between them and civil servants due to corruption within the local government system, with

allegations of local government officials awarding themselves tenders by setting up "briefcase"

companies, or extorting bribes before giving out such tenders.

The conflict has also had an enormous impact on the demographic and skills base of the region.

The 2002 census indicates that the population of Northern Uganda is youthful and becoming

even younger over time. Children (those under 18 years) constituted 55 percent of the population,

those under 15 years constituted 49 percent, while the elderly (over 60+) made up 4 percent.41

Youth have been both the primary victims and in some senses the primary actors during the

LRA conflict – and yet, according to the findings of a recent study by the Survey of War Affected

Youth (SWAY), very little information on the effects of this dynamic is available, including the

different effects of conflict on young men and women.42 This lack of information directly hampers

programming efforts by government and development partners alike. The SWAY study points to

the need for significant expansion of programmes that are targeted to youth, which in most cases

are "grossly inadequate".43

 

Levels of abduction of young people were high, some forced into LRA ranks and others to

"support" fighters, including as sex slaves to commanders: the total number of abducted youth

is placed at anywhere between 24,000–66,000.44 The psychological impacts of the experiences

undergone by both abducted and non-abducted youth are profound, with high levels of youth

witnessing, experiencing and perpetrating acts of violence. Unsurprisingly, these experiences are

correlated with high reported levels of family problems and emotional distress. Just under half

of abducted males and under a quarter of abducted females had traditional cleansing ceremonies

performed for them on their return – but forced mothers are typically excluded.45

Meanwhile a large part of this young population has limited or no education and skills.46

Traditional subsistence farming is unfamiliar to many young people who have grown up in

camps. Elsewhere, young people's inability to secure an income has been cited as a major conflict

risk, as it may facilitate their recruitment into armed ranks, or generate disillusionment and

frustration that means they turn away from participating in a country's political, social and

political recovery (see also the Sri Lanka study in this series on the topic). A lack of skills poses a

significant risk for local people unable to fully partake in the future opportunities that economic

recovery efforts will bring, in turn reinforcing their economic marginalisation.

The major economic resource of the region is land – yet here, too, the legacy of conflict poses

challenges, as already identified in Section 3 and discussed in further detail below. Overall, it is

clear that the costs to the region's economy taken as a whole were immense – the government

Peace, Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP) itself estimates that the conflict has cost the

country a productive capacity equivalent to US$100 million per year.47

After years of stagnation, the months of peace enjoyed by Northern Uganda during the Juba

peace process led in some respects to a new feeling of buoyancy in the economy, with indications

of rising investor confidence, ranging from the opening of new bank branches, movement on the

road connecting Uganda and Sudan, and traders moving freely around and between districts.48

Despite ongoing uncertainty and grim developments, economic activity is for now continuing in

the region.

 

As the population moves from dependency on relief and free inputs towards independent living,

challenges exist related to continued low levels of production that are directly linked to land

conflict, as well as the lack of farming equipment and infrastructure to support production and

marketing. 48.2 percent of respondents to the Alert survey mentioned food scarcity as a result

of decline in crop production as a factor with significant potential to cause future local conflicts.

Respondents attested that food scarcity often sparks food thefts (58 percent) and destabilises

household incomes (50.7 percent). This, coupled with high dependency on land where ownership

is unclear (20.7 percent), is a major threat that could fuel recurrences of conflicts and/or heighten

existing ones.49

 

Although agriculture is still the mainstay for most people, the character of involvement is different

from before the war, and reflects a collapsed rural economy. According to the survey, there

are more people selling agricultural labour (14.2 percent) compared to before the conflict (3.5

percent). Gender disaggregation shows more men (4.8 percent) compared to women (2.3 percent)

engaged in sale of agricultural labour before the conflict; while currently it is higher for women

(15.5 percent) compared to men (12.7 percent). The role of livestock as a means of earning a

living has drastically declined, as animal numbers have dwindled. Unemployment levels among

survey respondents also rose compared to before the conflict (from 5 to 13.4 percent – again, the

rate of increase in unemployment was higher amongst women compared to men).

The conflict has also inevitably resulted in the emergence of new forms of productive enterprise,

and adoption of emergency coping strategies.50 Petty trade and boda-boda (motorcycle taxis)

have grown dramatically; however such alternatives are yet to take the place of agriculture as the

major form of livelihood. These transformations have a positive dimension, indicating resilience

and capacity for diversification in the economy, with more people (25 percent, up from 16.2)

self-employed in non-farm activities, and various forms of trade (shop operation, market and

roadside vending)51 and vocations like mechanics, tailoring and transport all gaining prominence.

There are also more negative implications – the steep increase in the number of women making a

living from brewing alcohol is testimony to the rise in alcoholism in the region, most likely linked

to the increase in domestic violence that the survey also confirmed.

 

When asked about the likely sources of future work opportunities, an overwhelming majority of

respondents (87 percent) felt they themselves would have to take the initiative to improve their

own opportunities. However, "self-help" requires others' support, according to respondents.

Among both rural and peri-urban respondents, the most frequently mentioned forms of support

identified were loans (38 and 41.5 percent, respectively), immediately followed by securing farm

inputs and accessing ox-ploughs.52

 

When asked about priorities for economic recovery, respondents in the four survey districts

emphasised that returned populations should be resettled peacefully, with adequate access to

services, and their food security ensured. This would mitigate the emerging risk of conflict over

food for survival, according to them. It would also help people move away from dependency on

food hand-outs. Also cited was the need to diversify crop production from the region's traditional

crops like cow peas, cassava, sim-sim to other, improved varieties that are fast growing and high

yielding, so as to expedite recovery of the agricultural sector.

 

At the time of the survey, more than half of the study population (53.5 percent) reported not

having been given any form of assistance for economic recovery. A slightly larger group (55.7

percent) felt that the little economic recovery assistance being offered was neither in line with the

priorities of the communities, nor disbursed effectively. Amongst those that had received economic

recovery assistance, the most common form was farm inputs – mainly seeds and livestock, much

less the ox-ploughs which most respondents felt were essential.

 

 

Stay in the forum for Series two hundred and thirteen on the way   ------>

EM

On the 49^th Parallel          

                 Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja and Dr. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda is in anarchy"
                    Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja na Dk. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda ni katika machafuko"