Peace but no prosperity

It is 8:00am at Pabbo Gulu in Northern Uganda.

The sun is rising across a spectacular topology and, for miles along the dusty road, one can see damp black soil begging for seeds to grow on it. But the only vegetation in sight is natural savannah grass.

A few miles into the area is Pabbo trading centre, makeshift structures and a few semi-permanent stores.

In the alleys, men shuffle cards for another game, while others are engrossed in omweso, a traditional table sport.

Children in torn clothes scamper out of a shop with items like cooking oil, matches and sugar.

One girl, about eight years old, runs into a hut with matches, where a woman is washing utensils.

Near her is a kettle blackened by smoke and a baby in a metal basin waiting for a bath.

I drive through the trading centre slowly, but am back to the spectacular view of plains and fertile black soil.

Any farmer would love to plant in these lands. But people here spend most of the day drinking, playing and waiting for handouts from humanitarian agencies.

Northern Uganda is now in a transitional stage — after an emergency state where a 20-year conflict stopped people from working.

People are now expected to cater for themselves.

Humanitarian organisations are phasing out their operations, while development agencies are preparing to move in.

At the district headquarters in Gulu, I was told that local authorities in 2007 declined to take over a water source installed by the International Committee of the Red Cross because they could not guarantee supply of 120 litres of fuel every two weeks to run the generators that power the water pumps.

At a health centre in Lugore sub county, the staff is sceptical of continued service because some medicines that the government is supposed to procure take up to a year to arrive.

Mainly, the centre treats ailments whose drugs are available, and supplied by the Red Cross.