Africa-Press – Uganda. Gulu District technical staff and leaders have disagreed on the relocation of the new headquarters.
After Gulu City was carved out of Gulu District in July 2020, the latter embarked on relocating its headquarters to Awach Town Council.
But according to Mr Christopher Opiyo, the district chairperson, technical staff have refused to relocate.
“We are doing all this in the interest of bringing government services closer to the people of Gulu District because our area of jurisdiction is no longer in Gulu City where our district headquarters were located. And our being in Gulu City means we are serving the people of Gulu City, not the people for which the district was created,” Mr Opiyo said on Tuesday.
In a February 28 letter, the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Mr Ismael Ochengel, asked all heads of department and projects to relocate to Awach Town Council by March 15.
However, Mr Ochengel said many district civil servants have refused to relocate. “I have a technical officer who told me that, if we are relocating to Awach, he will resign and resignation is a personal decision,” Mr Ochengel said.
Currently, the district is lobbying for money to complete its Shs8 billion new administrative buildings whose construction works have stalled since 2020.
“The available facility in Awach will be shared by the officers as we lobby for money from the central government to complete the district headquarters to accommodate staff. Because when you are in a comfortable zone like we are operating in Gulu City, we shall never construct our home,” he said.
One of the senior officers at the district, who spoke to Monitor on condition of anonymity, to speak freely, argued that the accommodation provided in Awach is inadequate and does not meet their living standards.
Another staff said the district leadership is forcing the civil servants to go to Awach and yet their offices are still within Gulu City.
“The RDC (resident district commissioner) claims he is based in Awach and yet he comes and hides in one of the offices formerly occupied by the deputy district health officer. Besides, the district chairman and CAO are all in Gulu City ,” the staff said.
“I would rather remain in Gulu City where I am easily accessible by all the staff I work with than go and be redundant under mango trees in Awach.”
However, the RDC, Mr Charles Ichogor, said : “Our going to district’s new location is a lobbying tool because when the central government comes and finds us under the tree, they will sympathise with us.”
Ms Phoebe Ayoo Obol, the district speaker, said : “We (council) have resolved that any relocation taking place must be done in a phased manner since there are no funds . Also, the plan being developed must have clear details of the available facilities in Awach.”
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