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BY RICHARD DRASIMAKU AND GOODLUCK MUSINGUZI
ARUA CITY: FRIDAY, MAY 9, 2025
The Health sector is under the social services thematic working group and the forum will develop a working group plan to scrutinize sector.
“We aim for improved service delivery in the health sector where people are able to know about ongoing rehabilitation of health infrastructure,” said Rasul Musa Ayiman, President of the Arua City Development Forum.
He made the disclosure during an interview with West Nile News on the sidelines of an induction training for the development forum members at Desert Breeze hotel on Friday.
Ayiman said this will create awareness about the state of nearest service points to the people and enable them to access improved quality service.
The same approach will also be applied to all other sectors including road infrastructure, administration, local economic development etc.
In fact there are seven thematic working groups within the city development forum. “This is where the real work is done, where people move out to gather information, sit down to discus and make recommendations to the City council,” explained Ayiman.
Stephen Bogere, an official from the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development said the working groups should help the forum members to understand the different sectorial areas including the legal department, lands registration, housing, procurement and others, which information they can use to not only inform council decisions but also sensitize the general public.
The VNG International organized the three-day induction under the sustainable development through improved local governance (SDLG) programme.
Ayimani commented that the training came timely, the result of which will be reduced conflicts, high level of understanding, and collaborations and sharing information because we need to work together since the city is for us all.
“Our purpose is to link the community and city leaders as we stand in between them,” he emphasized.
Arua as a cosmopolitan city is the biggest urban center in West Nile and a growing business and investment destination whose economy includes estates, banking, telecommunication, Information and Communications technology, urban farming and horticulture.
There also is a thriving hardware business, beverages, hotels and hospitality, general merchandise as well as education, health and pharmaceuticals.
The members to the City Development Forum held constituency elections in December last year and on February 25, 2025, executive elections were held but the members have being waiting to commence their voluntary works ever since.
The induction is important to help the forum members to start from a point of knowledge by helping them to understand how the City development forum to works according to Fred Bada, a trainer with VNG International.
To know with whom they are going to work, the key stakeholders. It will have a positive kick start for executive of the forum because they know all the people thy will interact.
Of course there are several government programs like Parish Development Model, Emyooga, youth livelihood projects that Judith Bako, the Assistant Resident City Commissioner in charge of the Central Division emphasized must be closely followed.
“Give service above self,” she said, adding a warning to the executive committee that they must remain united and work as a team and that they must leave aside trivial grievance over tribes and religion.
