Leaders in the Karamoja subregion are worried that the low literacy levels of local councilors are making it hard for them to make good decisions.
The leaders who spoke to URN alleged that 80 percent of the local councilors cannot read or write, and this has adversely affected their competence in decision-making, thus contributing to poor service delivery. In desperation because the government refused to set minimum qualifications for councilors, they now want interpreters to be hired for the councilors so they can know what is in official policy documents.
In July 2022, Moses Lomuria, the LC3 chairperson of Longaroe sub county in Kotido district, banned the use of English as an official language at the office premises. Lomuria claimed that the counselors who speak English could be planning badly against his leadership since he does not understand the language.
Lomuria, who has never been to school, was chosen as a sub-county chairperson by the Elders. They said it was because their gods told them to do it in the shrine.
Faith Nakut, the woman member of parliament for Napak district, says it is very unfortunate to have councilors who cannot read and write, yet they are the body that makes decisions for the district.
Nakut said that all councilors need to have some kind of education, but the government doesn’t take this seriously, so anyone can get into leadership positions.
She also said that if someone doesn’t have a college degree, they can’t bring issues to the floor of the council, which can slow down service delivery.
“Our councilors have failed to do their work simply because they do not know what they are supposed to do. I’m worried because they are the backbone of the district, “Nakut lamented.
Nakut also said that since the motion was moved off the floor of parliament, the local government should make sure that leaders who don’t understand the language used are safe by giving them interpreters to translate the budget before they sign it.
Paul Lokol, the chairperson of LCV for Nabilatuk district, says that he has always been frustrated by the way his councilors always present issues during council sessions, while others prefer to keep quiet because they don’t know their role in the council.
Lokol says that since there are no special academic requirements for local councilors, the ministry of local government was supposed to train councilors to help them understand their roles and build their skills. Unfortunately, this has never happened.
“The low literacy rate contributes to poor service delivery among the councilors because they find it hard to make decisions on reports presented in English,’’ Lokol reiterated.
Joseph Lobot, the chairperson of LCV for Amudat district, observed that most of the councilors in the district are not able to analyze information on their own because they can’t read and write.
Lobot says that local councils need to be trained and given more power so they know what their roles and responsibilities are.
He said that it’s too bad that most of the councilors are new to the system and that training is so important for them to know how to do their jobs.
Local councilors are members of an elected body that makes decisions on behalf of a local government through a formal meeting process. The council members have to go to all of the meetings to make sure that the voters’ needs are met.