THE PRESIDENT REQUESTED THE POLITICAL LEADER'S, CULTURAL, RELIGIOUS AND THE LOCAL PEOPLE TO BE CAREFUL WHILE ATTENDING TO THE ISSUE OF BALALO

The President  requested the people of Acholi to be careful while dealing with the Balaalo issue because it is sensitive and can cause problems. On this cause, A few day's ago Hon Atuka had rooted into the issue advising Acholi to seat Back with Kaka and carefully integrate on the land that was leased or sold in the previous year's to the Balalo effectively. 

“You should be careful,The president warned The locals. Not to just talk about the issue of Balalo anyhowly like Odonga Otto has been saying that “Balaalo cannot come  here because Acholi is Acholi land, Balaalo cannot come here?,  then you put me in problems because during the war I found my people (Acholi) suffering in an IDP in Anaka,  I asked them what they were doing there, they said they have nowhere to go because there's war here. I said Uganda is big and a republican state if there's war here, you go to other parts of Uganda, I told them to cross the Nile and go to the other side,” the President emphasised. 

“They listened to my advice and crossed the Nile and went to a place called Bweyale. There were only three shops at Bweyale at that time but if you go there today, it’s a huge town and the majority of the people there are the Acholi people. If you say that non-Acholi people should not come to Acholi, then what should I do with my people in Bweyale? Do I say that you go back or what? So, you need to be careful. Therefore, we need to handle this issue carefully. These people who are playing around, should talk about the matter seriously and we shall solve it.”

The President also blamed MPs and other leaders for the failure to push forward his program of commercializing agriculture, saying this would have solved the problem of underutilizing land. 

“What they need to do is to transition from grazing grass born by God to grazing grass planted by themselves. That is what my MPs here are not telling them because if you depend on free range, you need three acres to support one cow in a year. So if you have got 1 square mile, you can only support 200 cows properly but if you plant the grass deliberately, and you cut for the cows,  one acre can feed 8 cows in a year. In ten acres, you can keep 80 friesian cows. In 30 acres, you can keep 240 cows. It is a big land, but they are now underutilizing it because they don't listen to what I tell them, and leaders don't transmit to them what I tell them.”

On the other hand, the President cautioned the people of Acholi and Greater North at large against land fragmentation and also asked cultural leaders to adjust on the laws governing clan land to facilitate development. 

“Then there's another disease which I don't want you, the Acholi, to catch, this sub-dividing of the property when the head of the family dies. That is why they say that land is squeezed. You, the cultural leader and other leaders, need to help me educate our people what the Europeans learned long ago. Europeans don't physically fragment wealth. They started long ago to use shares; this helps to sustain family wealth.”

He also appealed to the people of Acholi to support development in their area to stimulate their welfare. 

“On the issue of the dairy industry, we are going to promote it. If the Balaalo have shown you that there's money in milk, now you learn it and copy it and we support you.”