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BY RICHARD DRASIMAKU
TEREGO: THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2026
Eric Dramviku, Terego West parliamentary candidate and the National Resistance Movement flag bearer has cautioned the people not to take the general elections as a joke.
He said this has been the weakness in previous polls and it is the reason the constituency lags behind in many development parameters.
“This is why when an expectant mother is delivering, you put her on a motorcycle to take her to the health center. I know that since morning many of you have been waiting for me up to this evening and you have not eaten anything. Because of poverty some of you wear a red slipper on the left foot and blue slipper on the right foot,” said to set the pace at various campaign rallies in Aa-aa and Aripia wards in Leju town council on Wednesday.
“If you joke in this election, you will continue in this miserable state for another five years,” Dramviku warned.
Observing that they are ten candidates the race, Dramviku encouraged the voters to check the candidates properly for leadership qualities and manifesto rather than just shout with their names to appease them.
“This election is not about which candidate owns a car. It’s not about going to see people shouting with your name, Dramviku oyee! Dramviku Oyee!” he cautioned, expounding that even in Kampala people are taking part in the same vote just like in Koboko, Maracha and elsewhere.
Dramviku explained that if the people in other constituencies vote better MPs they will get benefits from the government but Terego West will remain lagging behind.
Having projected himself as the candidate of choice who has understood the development headaches of Terego, Dramviku pointed out that many young people have attained some level of education but do not have capital for starting small businesses.
The widows, he said, go to rallies to listen to candidates because they know that they have children and they need school fees and household income so that they can be like those widows in Arua City.
He added that the elderly are wondering how the age for accessing social assistance grant for the elderly can be reduced from 80 to 60 or lower to benefit more people.
“You have been voting since 1996 for MPs, how has that changed you? You vote for us to go to Parliament to speak on your behalf and bring services closer to you,” he emphasized.
“Now if after five years of Terego becoming a district an expectant mother is taken from Ombatini to Omugo Health Centre IV and then refereed back to Arua City via her home. What kind of referral is this?
Terego district has remained like a football field without multiplying administrative units to bring services to the people, he noted, asserting that this is why Terego gets smaller PDM funds than districts that are smaller and less populated.
Dramviku said due to poor leadership, all the livestock markets which are the major local revenue sources are in Terego East constituency, leaving Terego West with none.
These are Kubala and Onyungari in Omugo sub county, Okpotani in Odupi Sub County and Ejome Live stock market in Uriama sub county.
He said in terms of administrative units, a simple comparison between Terego and Maracha district leaves one with gaping mouth.
“If you had elected good leaders, by now Wandi would be a town council, Ocodri, Okpotani, Kubala would all be town councils. These large parishes should have been split into smaller and manageable parishes. You would be having more sub counties. You would be having a government health center IV in Terego West,” said Dramviku.
In terms of land area, Maracha is 446 km2 which is three times smaller than Terego district but has 19 sub counties and five town councils while Terego which is 1176 km2 has six sub counties and one town council.
Maracha district having a population of 234712 has 91 parishes while Terego with a population of 323000 has 42. Accordingly, Maracha district received more Parish Development Funds totaling to sh27.9 billion as Terego got sh12.9 billion.
It is therefore not surprising that 30,695 people were given the PDM funds in Maracha while only 13,004 got funding in Terego despite the fact that many recipients got less than the one million shillings that President Yoweri Museveni had directed.
Draviku said this glaring picture of lack of leadership in Terego is what the people must change starting with the January 15, 2026 polls.
He urged that the other nine contestants for the Terego West Parliamentary seat who don’t know these things should stop wasting peoples time seeking for their votes.
Dramviku promised to work towards uniting the district by cooperating with the district local council, break the lower administrative units to create smaller governance units, establish a youth skilling center and support the presidential skilling programe and improve health service by buying three ambulances for Terego West Constituency to phase out the carrying of expectant mothers on Senke motorcycles.
“If Maurine Osoru can buy ambulances, if Jenifer Driwaru the woman MP for Marach district can buy ambulance, the ambulance bought by Sunday Odria, the MP for Aringa South is always carrying sick people via Terego West constituency to Arua Regional Referral Hospital, is Terego West so cursed that an MP cannot buy ambulance for you people?” Dramviku posed to mixture of laughter and handclaps.
