Related Articles
BY RICHARD DRASIMAKU
ARUA: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2025
From Ayivu East Constituency to Arua Central Division, National Resistance Movement Flag-bearers, Eng William Tiyo Oda and Jackson Atima have intensified the mobilization for youth and women votes as the general campaigns enter the final lap.
On Saturday, both candidates illuminated roadside bodaboda stages with captivating speeches to the youths as well as combing various trading centers within the two constituencies to address rallies.
Grace Eceru, the Arua City Vice Chairperson of the Women League, urged the youths and women to hold the two candidates tightly with both hands and ensure that their votes are not wasted on other people.
Eng Tiyo is tackling three opponents in Ayivu East Constituency while Atima is wrestling five in the Central Division.
They are Godfrey Anguyo of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC, Geoffrey Feta an independent candidate, and Isaac Ayikobua of the National Unity Platform (NUP) in Ayivu East and Muzaidi Khemis of FDC, Kassiano Wadri of the Alliance for National Transformation, Jackson Obindu of NUP, and Ronald Debo and Hadad Salim who are independent candidates in the Arua Central Division.
The duo (Eng Tiyo and Atima) have emphasized participation in government development programs, mainly the Parish Development Model, and skills training for youths as their main agenda for that section of their constituents in the next five years.
The Parish Development Model (PDM), government’s flagship program for poverty eradication has given financing capital to 14,812 people in Arua city since 2022.
The beneficiaries are from 54 savings and credit cooperative organisations (SACCOS), six of whom are from the Central Division while the 48 are from Ayivu Division.
This is according to Dr Lois Taban, the City Veterinary officer who doubles as the PDM focal person for Arua City.
Dr Taban said sh16,761m was received under PDM funding of which a total of sh14,812m has already been given to the communities for investment into various enterprises including farming, produce buying and selling, bodaboda riding, among others.
However, there is the sh1,949m that is pending disbursement. These will be given to the beneficiaries who have already been identified and are undergoing training.
Since the beginning of the general campaigns, President Yoweri Museveni has promised to double the PDM funding to Cities and Municipalities and add sh15m per SACCO to cater for the leaders who have been milking part of the funds to the detriment of the recipients.
Tiyo informed the rally goers at different venues in Dadamu, a former sub county in Ayivu east constituency that the government has constructed youth skills training hubs at Olia in Adjumani, Ragem in Arua City and Ora in Zombo district.
The youths who go to those centers are trained free-of-charge and the Office of the President has even created seed capital financing scheme of sh50m per district for the graduates.
After training, the graduates are given startup tools to enable them take off with utilizing the variety of skills acquired in fields such as motorcycle and vehicle repairing, wood works, welding, hospitality management among others.
Other than the government initiative, Tiyo who also is a member of the board of directors of the Mungufeni Foundation said they have trained bodaboda cyclists in Arua city and given them reflector jackets while 167 youth and women have been trained from the foundations’ skills center at Anyafio in Arua city with tailoring skills.
The Engineer said after successful elections, they will expand the skilling center by acquiring land in Ayivu East constituency and introducing more training programs.
Atima on his part said in the first term, he acquired a building for a youth skilling center which is going to be equipped and operationalized in his second term.
Atima and Tiyo emphasized that these are the genuine avenues to create jobs for the youths who have been unfairly targeted with derogatory statements by some other politicians as thieves and idlers and yet they are seeking the votes of these youths.
When empowered to get into the money economy through PDM and imparting of skills, the youths and women would then be able to pay school fees and support their families.
