By Joseph Abiria

Arua

Elders under their umbrella association Save Ayivu Initiative have embarked on a campaign to demand for a district status. The elders want government to intervene and reduce the unproportioned size of Arua City and grant them a district of Ayivu. The whole of Ayivu County was merged to create Arua city in 2020, which currently covers a radius of 410 square kilometers and is one of the largest cities in Africa.

According to sources from urban planning authority, a city is ideally supposed to cover a radius between 10-30 square kilometers utmost. The elders are now drumming up for support from government to dismantle the current Arua city saying creation of the city has led to untold suffering of  Ayivu people inform of loss of jobs and crippled service delivery at the same time. The elders claim that at the peak of creating arua city in 2020, they were not consulted at all by technocrats of Arua city.

David Anguyo a concerned youth of save ayivu initiative reavels that the creation of Arua city has rendered a number of people jobless and crippled service delivery  making them loose their identity. “Ayivu has lost a lot of services, the subcounties have collapsed, these subcounties used to employ so many people to work, now days these people are no longer working, they are jobless and doing nothing,  we ayivu people used to get services from government”, Anguyo emphasized.

Willy Banduni, an elder of ayivu welcomes the creation of Ayivu district noting that Ayivu County deserves a district status. “What we want is Ayivu to be a district not a city,” said Banduni.

Despite the current big size of Arua city, alarm bells are already under way to reduce arua city to its former size that used to be under Arua Municipality. But whether authorities of urban planning will be able to adjust stipulated guidelines contained under urban council policy frame works, John Tutu, a cultural promoter does not back the current size of Arua city. He said it has led to a lapse in effecting service delivery.

However Levi Adroa, the chairman Save Ayivu Initiative said they cannot settle for less, but rather they only want Ayivu County to be elevated to a district status with immediate effect. “We want Ayivu to be given its own district, that’s the only thing we need so that we enjoy our benefits of decentralization, our culture to be, we are too poor to be in Arua city”, said Adroa.
Arua city among 10 other cities in Uganda became autonomous as   smaller cities after a resolution by parliament backed by urban planning authority.

COVER PHOTO: Extreme (R) Mzee John Godo with other Elders During a meeting By Joseph Abiria