Gulu Municipality wants to extend her border into the Gulu and Omoro districts to achieve a population requirement of 500,000 people, from the current 350,000 in order to be declared a city by Parliament in July this year.
The proposal by Gulu Municipality to extend the boundary in the quest for a city status has received boost from Omoro district.
Gulu Municipality wants to extend her border into the Gulu and Omoro districts to achieve a population requirement of 500,000 people, from the current 350,000 in order to be declared a city by Parliament in July this year. The extension will see the radius of the municipality extended to 5.2 Kilometres.
Only Gulu district has formally accepted to surrender parts of her territories to Gulu Municipality through a council resolution passed last year.
Omoro district local government says it will sit on Friday to pass a similar resolution to annex seven of its parishes to Gulu Municipality.
The parishes include Alokolum, Abwoc and Patuda from Ongako Sub County while Koro Sub County will surrender Pageya, Acoyo, Labwoc and Lapainat West.
Gulu district has annexed seven parishes from Unyama and Bungatira sub-counties. They are Pakwelo and Unyama from Unyama Sub-counties while Bungatira Sub County surrendered the parishes of Agonga, Laliya, Laroo, Oitino and Pabwo.
Damasco Odong, the speaker of Omoro district local government says they will convene a special full council meeting to formalize the surrender of the parishes. He says the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development has set Friday 15th as deadline for the resolution.
Francis Barabanawe, the Gulu Municipal town clerk says they will facilitate Omoro district local government to conduct the emergency full council meeting.
Justine Niwagaba, the Commissioner for Planning and Urban Development in the Ministry of Local Government says Cabinet is seeking the final document on all the proposed regional cities for approval.
Niwagaba says all the regional cities will have two divisions only. In the case of Gulu, the divisions will be named East and West Divisions consisting of 15 parishes each.
The parishes that will make up East division are Labwoc, Pageya, Acoyo, vanguard, labourline, tegwana, pawel, queens, ariaga, Pece prison, Laroo, unyama, pakwelo and Lapainat.
The West division will consist of Abwoc, patuda II, Alokolum, Techo, patuda, library, Kirombe, Kasubi, Kanyagoga, for God, Bardege, oitino, Laliya, agonga and Pabwo.
Jesse Johnson James
Freelancer