Members of Parliament from northern Uganda have disclosed that they intend to seek a court injunction preventing the government from implementing the 1.1 trillion shillings Peace, Recovery and Development Plan for the region.
The Peace, Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP) was temporarily suspended earlier this month because of administrative reasons. The State Minister for Northern Uganda, David Wakikona, said government was reviewing the process through which funds in support of the program would be disbursed in order to cause the greatest impact for development in northern Uganda.
However Odonga Otto, the MP for Aruu County, says this action is not enough. He says the Greater North Parliamentary Development Forum wants government to clearly define the PRDP implementation plan.
Otto argues that ambiguity surrounding the plan may create loopholes for embezzlement and waste of the recovery funds. He says a court injunction will force government to rethink and publicly announce its strategy on implementation of the PRDP.
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The MPs want government to allocate a separate budget line and dedicated human resource to handle the program.
The LC5 chairperson of Gulu, Norbert Mao, says government's failure to create a separate account for the Peace, Recovery and Development Plan is tantamount to an intention to commit fraud. He is however against the MPs' planned court action, insisting that the problems surrounding the fund should be addressed politically, not legally.
