Ms Catherine Lamwaka, resigned from her position as the Gulu Resident District Commissioner (RDC) on Friday in order to run for the Gulu District Woman Member of Parliament seat in the 2016 parliamentary elections.
Her resignation brings the total number of senior government officials who have resigned their positions to contest for elective positions seats in the 2016 general elections to over 20.
The resignations are meant to comply with provisions of the Parliamentary Elections Act 2005 which requires that a person employed in any government department or agency of the government or an employee of a local government or any body in which the government has controlling interest to resign his or her office at least ninety days before nomination day.
Lamwaka who wants to contest on National Resistance Movement (NRM) party ticket will face a strong challenge from Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Ms Betty Aol Ocan, the current Gulu District Woman Member of Parliament who has held the seat since 2006.
MP Aol has twice beaten NRM official candidates including Uganda’s Ambassador to Japan, Ms Betty Akech Okullu.
Lamwaka who served in Pader district before being transferred to Gulu to serve in the same capacity as RDC says she wants to bring change in leadership in Acholi sub region as a whole adding that the current leaders have failed to bring development since their number is limited in parliament on grounds that they belong to opposition parties.
Lamwaka said the experience she gained while working as the RDC in the last three years will help her to lobby for development projects.
She noted that the government has failed to expand programs such as Social Assistance Grants for Empowerment (SAGE) for the elderly to Acholi sub region because elected leaders have failed in their work as representatives of the affected people.
The former RDC adds that her participation in politics is not for personal gains but purely based on effective representation in order to bring services nearer to the people as well as to improve livelihood of families who are still resettling to their original villages after they were forced into the internally displaced persons’ camps.
Lamwaka noted that in the next five years, households should be able to pay their children to school and meet other basics once household income is improved.
The President’s Office has in a circular dated May 25th, 2016 signed by the Permanent Secretary Deborah Katuramu directed all the Resident District Commissioners and their deputies who intend to participate in elections to resign before 30th May 2015.
