Gov’t disburses over Shs 3.9bln to Soroti for cattle restocking

SOROTI, July 30, 2026 — Government has disbursed more than Shs 3.9 billion to residents of Soroti City and Soroti District under the Cattle Restocking Programme, with officials urging beneficiaries to use the funds for their intended purpose.

Leaders in both Soroti City and Soroti district said the money is intended to support households affected by cattle raids and help them replace lost livestock. They warned that any misuse or diversion of the funds would attract action from authorities.

In Soroti City, Badru Ochengel, the focal person for the restocking programme, said 350 people were profiled for the programme, of whom 348 were approved by the Ministry of Local Government and the Office of the Prime Minister [OPM].

He said 333 beneficiaries had so far received a total of Shs 1.66bln, although only 315 had acknowledged receipt of the funds.

Ochengel said two beneficiaries had not yet received the money due to minor discrepancies in their details, but assured them that the funds would be released once the issues were resolved.

“So far, we have profiled 350 people and 348 were approved by OPM. This means the two people have problems with their details,” he said.

He said the two beneficiaries could have failed to receive the money because their one-time passwords [OTPs] could not be sent or because they did not meet the programme’s eligibility guidelines.

Ochengel said one of the main challenges was that many beneficiaries opened Wendi accounts but failed to deposit money into them, leaving the accounts dormant and causing the funds to be returned to Pearl Bank.

He urged beneficiaries to keep their accounts active by depositing some money to prevent the funds from being returned.

Meanwhile, Soroti District Communication Officer Abraham Ekwaru said Shs 2.3bln has so far been disbursed to the beneficiaries. Of the 486 beneficiaries uploaded onto the programme, 469 had received their payments in full.

He attributed delays affecting the remaining beneficiaries to inconsistencies in the information they provided, particularly their telephone contacts. He said the money for the affected beneficiaries was already with the bank.

However, Soroti Resident District Commissioner Imuran Muluga said the restocking exercise had generally progressed well, despite a few challenges that authorities had managed to address.

He cited an incident in which two LCII chairpersons from Asuret and Tubur town councils, together with some parish chiefs, were allegedly involved in extorting money from beneficiaries. The officials were arrested and are awaiting court appearances.

“In Tubur Town Council, the LCII solicited Shs 2 million before the beneficiary was given the Shs 5 million,” Muluga said.

Muluga said the LC2 chairperson escorted a beneficiary to the bank and obtained the money. However, following an intelligence-led operation, he was arrested and taken to court, with the case still ongoing.

He urged beneficiaries to remain vigilant and report any leaders involved in extortion or other forms of corruption to security authorities.

He warned that anyone involved in corruption or extortion would face the law.

The government says the Cattle Restocking Programme in the Teso, Lango and Acholi sub-regions is aimed at helping households affected by cattle raids and conflicts rebuild their livestock assets. Under the programme, each eligible household receives Shs 5 million in cash to purchase five cattle.

The Office of the Prime Minister is overseeing the programme’s implementation across 33 local governments.

Government allocated Shs 80bln in the 2025/26 financial year to implement the Cattle Restocking Programme. Each eligible household in the three sub-regions is entitled to Shs 5 million to procure three heifers and two bulls.

The allocation means the Shs 80bln budget is expected to support 16,000 households across Acholi, Lango and Teso.

https://thecooperator.news/gulu-city-withdraws-controversial-cattle-restocking-form/

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