Oyam North MP petitions parliament over Tochi Irrigation Scheme mismanagement

30 September 2026, 10:19 pm

By Eman Yonah Oruk

Parliament has formally received a petition from representatives and beneficiaries of the Tochi Irrigation Scheme in Acaba Subcounty, Oyam District.

The petition was presented by the Member of Parliament for Oyam North, Hon. Dr. Eunice Apio Otuko.

The petition raises grave concerns over underutilisation, mismanagement and alleged corruption surrounding the multi-billion-shilling project.

Government invested approximately 45 billion shillings in the scheme, which was intended to benefit 1,200 farmers. However, only 52 farmers are currently benefiting, leaving the majority excluded.

The scheme was established in 2016 and launched by the President on 4th September 2018 to improve rural livelihoods, enhance food security and promote climate change adaptation through modern irrigation infrastructure.

According to the petitioners, canals, pumping facilities, access roads and power infrastructure remain incomplete or poorly managed, undermining its intended purpose.

The petition further highlights multiple failures, including lack of adequate training for farmers in the use, operation and maintenance of irrigation technologies, idle solar-powered equipment, extortion, diversion of resources and corruption by scheme officials.

Despite repeated appeals to the Oyam District Local Government and the Ministry of Water and Environment, no meaningful intervention has been made.

The petitioners are now calling on Parliament to urgently investigate the utilisation of funds allocated to the scheme and its overall performance and management.

They stress that the project, which was meant to transform agriculture in Oyam and surrounding areas, has instead become a symbol of wasted public investment.

By championing the concerns of her constituents, Hon. Dr. Eunice Apio Otuko has positioned herself as a leading voice in Parliament demanding accountability and reforms to salvage the Tochi Irrigation Scheme.

While presenting the petition on the floor of Parliament today, 30th September 2026, which was signed by 25 people including the former Member of Parliament for Oyam South Constituency, Issa Otto Amiza, and the Oyam District Chairperson, Nelson Adea Akar, Dr. Eunice Apio Otuko, the Oyam North Constituency Member of Parliament, moved under Rule 31 of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Uganda.

She said government substantially invested 45 billion shillings in the Tochi Irrigation Scheme to benefit around 1,200 farmers, but the scheme is currently underutilised with only 52 farmers benefiting, which needs to be investigated.

She added that Tochi Irrigation Scheme was established in 2016 with the aim of improving farmers income, rural livelihood, food security and adaptation to climate change through sustainable natural resource and agriculture enterprise development.

In his response to the petition, the Speaker of the 12th Parliament, Rt. Hon. Jackson Oboth Oboth, referred the petition to the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture and gave it 30 days to report back to Parliament.