Related Articles
By Edward Akaki
Having a tour in the northern part of Karamoja region in the district of Kaabong and focusing on the sporting activities and how the district is performing in sports, there was no better person to speak to than the Manager Kaabong District Sports Association Mr. Lomuria Francis who opened up the story about the status quo of the District Sports Office.
This sub-sector is under Education. The sub-sector has only one officer as per staff establishment and was instated in June this year that is the District Sports Officer (DSO) Stephen Akileng though unfortunately the office was vacant from 2005 when the district was established till 2022.
“There is no functional stadium for the district ever since its inauguration in 2005 and all matches that is at the district level has been handled through schools playground”, explained by Mr. Lomuria.
In addition he added that, most institutions’ football fields are in fair condition, however equipment is virtually non-existent when it comes to basketball, volleyball, netball and other sports.
He said the playgrounds are on average between 10% and 20% overall efficient.
When asked about the district performance levels, Mr. Lomuria said that performance in national competition has been generally fair for Kaabong, but is greatly affected by inadequate funds for instance in 2013, Kaabong SS qualified for the National post primary football games which was held in Kasese but finances barred them from participating.
Also last year, Loyero John an athlete from Kaabong SS was selected as the best in long races and was supposed to represent the country in Olympic Games but for unknown reasons the runner up was taken instead.
In addition, insecurity has greatly hindered inter-districts travels for sporting activities which has affected talent showcase for Kaabong district people, however in the last financial year Kaabong managed to visit at least 5 districts in Karamoja for different games like football, athletics and volleyball.
Stephen Akileng the DSO-Kaboong said after joining office June there was a lot of loopholes including being the only personnel well equipped with sports science knowledge, adding to the already non existing district sports ground and untimely release of government quarterly funds.
He said in an attempt to revive sports in the district, the office will focus on sensitisation of the community on sports policies and importance, introducing professionalism in sports(coaches and referees trainings) and securing a piece of land for district sports events.
“We call upon other development partners in the district and the region to come to the rescue since government quarterly funding is low and I also appeal to the government should improve staffing level for better performance ” Akileng concluded
At the moment, Kaabong district do not have any district tournaments in all sporting aspects ongoing however the DSO said its a work in progress and only a matter of time for the district to start flying in sports.
This is a great platform for sports advocacy