This comes as Horyal Investment Holding Company Ltd, contracted by government to implement the sugarcane project has failed to acquire targeted 900 laborers to work on 6,500 hectares land ready for sugarcane growing.
The Ministry of Agriculture has resorted to deploying Local
Defense Unit Personnel -LDU to plant seed canes at Ayuu Alali Sugarcane plantation,
Palabek kal Sub County in Lamwo District.
This comes as Horyal Investment Holding Company Ltd, contracted by the government
to implement the sugarcane project has failed to acquire targeted 900 labourers
to work on 6,500 hectares of land ready for sugarcane growing.
The company has been struggling to recruit local labourers from Lamwo district
ever since plans to recruit experienced workers from Kamuli district were
halted over the COVID-19 pandemic last month.
Mohamoud Abdi Mohammed, Executive Director Horyal Investment Holding Company
Limited last week during a meeting with government officials revealed that about
600 tons of cane seeds had dried up due to manpower shortage.
To that effect, hundreds of LDU’s within Lamwo and Kitgum District were over
the weekend withdrawn from their duties in enforcing COVID-19 guidelines and
transported to work at the sugarcane plantation.
Brig. Michael Kabango, the Fifth Infantry Division Commander says the Ministry
of Agriculture through government’s relevant channels called for support from
the army to provide manpower to save the project from suffering losses.
//cue in: “After this people…
Cue out:…billions of shillings.”//
He notes that the LDU personnel all underwent screening for COVID-19 adding
that they will not be allowed to mix up with the community members for one
month while working in the sugarcane plantation.
Cue in: “We are trying…
Cue out:…any incoming people.”//
The Palabek Kal Sub-county LCIII Chairperson Geoffrey Nyeko says manpower
challenges at the sugarcane plantations have been due to a recent high rate of
turnover of labourers.
He notes that most of those recruited abandoned planting citing difficult
working conditions, poor pay among others leaving the Ayuu Alali Sugarcane
Project management in shortage of workers.
Efforts to get comments from Francis Ojwiya, the Chairperson Ayuu
Alali Sugarcane Cooperatives Society were futile as he didn’t answer
repeated phone calls to his mobile number.
Last week, the government gave a green light for the investor to
recruit 400 casual labourers from Kamuli district and transport them to Lamwo
to ensure the project doesn't stagnate.
National Agricultural Advisory Services-NAADS signed a memorandum of
understanding-MOU with the Company last year to open and plough 15,000 hectares
of land belonging to Ayuu-Alaali clan members.
The clan members under the Ayuu Alali Sugarcane Cooperatives Society comprises
of some 3,000 beneficiaries who have distributed five hectares to each member
for sugarcane plantation.
