Acholi Chiefdom Moves to Revamp Village Co-operatives

Ker Kwaro Acholi, the Acholi cultural institution has embarked on an ambitious plan to revamp village co-operatives across the 54 Chiefdoms to boost food and agriculture production.  

The move is also aimed conserving the environment, promoting education, culture, games and sport tourism, transport and information communications technology – ICT and restore household incomes.

 

Co-operative societies are autonomous associations of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.

David Livingstone Amone, the Production and Engineering Minister Acholi cultural institution, says their vision is to rebuild effective production systems that were destroyed by the two decade-long insurgency by the Lord’s Resistance Army – LRA rebels.

 

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Amone says the five multi-sector production and investment platforms developed by the institution will spur urgent revitalization of the production base across 54 sub-chiefdoms for economic liberalization of the community. 

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Denis Ojwee, a concerned resident observes that Acholi subjects must restore their protracted allegiance to the Chiefdom and cease the practice of selling land for such economic interventions to work. 

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Richard Jomeo, a rights activist and scholar also weighed in proposing that Ker Kwar Acholi should first re-brand itself and operationalize all chiefdoms to create workable structures in the implementation of such interventions.    

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Several clans under Acholi Chiefdom for example the Paciko clan of the bigger Payira clan in Pader district have made own policies in clan annual general gatherings to invigorate economic activities and social prosperity. 

Other clans are also enforcing high ethical morals by punishing lazy members, alcohol addicts and those guilty of family abandonment.

The Acholi areas of Northern Uganda suffered insecurity since the mid-1980s following the LRA war against government eroding the community’s culture and morality.  

  Even if peace was restored in 2006, the lack of physical assets and low levels of education and health and economic liberty are still obstacles to meaningful and lasting socio-economic revitalization.