The Prime Minister's office gave out five motorcycles for animal doctors in the north. The districts getting them are Gulu, Amuru, Kitgum, Apac, and Nwoya. A state minister named Kenneth Omona handed them over in Gulu City. He said the bikes are supposed to help with a presidential order about kicking out certain cattle herders, known as Balaalo, and fixing environmental damage. The motorcycles will let the vets get around faster to do that work and their normal animal care duties. The minister warned local officials not to use the vehicles for anything else.
A district commissioner from Amuru thanked the government for the support. But he also pointed out problems with the eviction order. He said some local people are supposedly helping the herders hide cattle to avoid being forced out. A military officer, Colonel Orombi Oloya, gave some numbers on the operation. He said their task force, called Operation Harmony, has already moved over fifty-three thousand head of Balaalo cattle out of the north since it started. He thinks the real number is higher, because their count only includes animals going through one specific checkpoint. Before all this started, the army estimated more than a hundred thousand of these cattle were grazing up there.
A district commissioner from Amuru thanked the government for the support. But he also pointed out problems with the eviction order. He said some local people are supposedly helping the herders hide cattle to avoid being forced out. A military officer, Colonel Orombi Oloya, gave some numbers on the operation. He said their task force, called Operation Harmony, has already moved over fifty-three thousand head of Balaalo cattle out of the north since it started. He thinks the real number is higher, because their count only includes animals going through one specific checkpoint. Before all this started, the army estimated more than a hundred thousand of these cattle were grazing up there.
