Amuru District is grappling with poor state of roads which is affecting the eviction of the migrant cattle keepers in the District.
The District security team had identified government land at Lakang Sub County for a temporary holding ground of the animals .
The roads measuring about 70 kilometers from Amuru District headquarters to Kololo at the proposed sugar plantation area have remained in very bad state.
Several trucks carrying bags of maize, beans, other crops with others ferrying bags of charcoal stuck on the roads on Tuesday and Wednesday as the enforcement team faced challenges in accessing the holding ground.
The Resident District Commissioner for Amuru Stephen Odong Latek noted that the enforcement team is facing a number of challenges ranging from bad roads and limited manpower among others.
Latek explained that the security team will have to find workable solutions as they intensify surveillance, but the actual eviction hangs in balance . ” At the moment, we can only do much of surveillance, as you can see, the roads are impossible yet we are to bring all these animals here, ” says Latek.
He further noted that the animals should be taken to the holding ground using trucks but any attempt to do that will likely result into fatal road crash that the team is trying to avoid. The enforcement had managed to evict 510 cattle but only 138 of them were from the government land in Lakang Sub County which has 22 cattle farmers with over 2400 cattle.
Amuru District has a total of 24,000 herds of cattle comprising of the both the locals and the migrant cattle keepers according a report from the District veterinary department.
“If there are other alternatives to bring these animals to the holding ground, the meeting is yet to resolve but what we can’t do right now is to transport them, added Latek.
Meanwhile, the enforcement which commenced on November 25th, 2023 with forceful eviction of the migrant cattle keepers was put to halt two days later.
The District security team according to the Resident District Commissioner Latek continues to study the situation and will resume transporting the cattle to the holding ground once the roads improve.
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