| Names | Martin Okumu |
| Designation | Ker Kwaro Acholi Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Lands & Environment |
| Address | Acholi Paramount Chief's Palace, Airport Road, Gulu, Uganda |
| Email Address | martin.okumu |
| Phone | +256-789-259-675 |
| Website | https://kerkwaroacholi.org |
| Social Media |
Martin Okumu, the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of finance, in a press statement, highlighted the team’s commitment to fostering peace, unity, development, and amicable resolutions of conflicts facing the cultural institution.
Okumu also called on the people in the Acholi Sub-region to collaborate with investors to increase land productivity, instead of selling land cheaply. According to Okumu, the community in Acholi can collaborate through the Uganda Investment Authority, the Ministry of Energy and Minerals Development, the Uganda Wildlife Authority, the District Councils, District Land Boards, Individual farmers, KKA, and can leaders.
“We recommend a win-win form of investment for our people and investments,” he said.
The new secretariat has also come up with recommendations to ensure proper land utilization and protection of customary land.
According to Okumu, there is a need for the community in the sub-region to carry out surveys and obtain titles for their communal and family land to secure it for posterity.
This he said, would help those in dire to hire part of their land to acquire capital that will in turn aid development through Agro mechanization.
The team has also recommended the formation of cooperative societies that could help members borrow loans from banks to purchase tractors, and ox-ploughs, and build stores among others to boost their agriculture.
Power row among chiefs
The appointment of the new top members of the Institution’s secretariat comes amidst an ongoing power row at the Acholi Cultural Institution.
In July last year, 15 clan chiefs out of the 57 chiefs under the Acholi Cultural Institution led by the Atiak Clan Chief, Richard Santo Apire, resolved to oust Rwot Acana.
The Chiefs accused Rwot Acana of attempting to sell off a piece of land belonging to the cultural institution to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) at shs2.5bn, misuse of funds, incompetent leadership, and failure to introduce a constitution. Rwot Acana has severally denied all the allegations.
Early this month, a team of elders and leaders from the Acholi Sub-region led by former Chua County Legislator, John Livingstone Okello Okello, passed a resolution calling on the government to halt the payment of emoluments to Rwot Acana until the current impasse is resolved. The elders who had formed a 15-man team of negotiators last year alleged their request to meet with Rwot Acana to resolve the power row, was not granted.
But the new secretariat has rubbished the allegations, arguing that the team of elders has gone against the rule of natural justice by becoming arbitrators in a case where they have already taken sides.
“Instead of insults, disparages, allegations, and abuses of Lawirwodi, and KKA, any sensible and right thinking sons and daughters of Acholi should know how to channel his grievances. In any case, you cannot be the accuser, judge, mediator, and arbitrator in your case that you conjured,” Michael Otim, the newly unveiled Prime Minister said in a statement.