By Eumu Emmanuel
The Lango Cultural Foundation has nominated a three-member project management committee to oversee the construction of the Lango Palace, which will be located on the institution’s land in the Senior Quarters of Lira City.
The committee comprises Levi Okodi Macpio, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Lango Cultural Foundation, Patrick Abal, Minister of Works and Physical Planning, and Felix Adupa Ongwech, Minister of Science, Innovation, and Technology, who will also serve as the General Secretary of the committee.
This was announced in a letter dated December 9, 2024, in which Lango Prime Minister Frederick Ogwal Oyee emphasized the need for the foundation’s direct involvement in all communications and decisions related to the project. This, he said, would ensure effective monitoring, evaluation, and successful execution in the best interests of Lango and the Government of Uganda.
The announcement comes as the Lango Cultural Foundation grapples with delays in fulfilling a long-standing pledge made by President Yoweri Museveni during the Lango Conference on December 29, 2012. The president had promised to construct a palace, an administrative block, and a cultural center for the foundation.
In November 2014, Lira District leaders allocated a two-acre piece of land along Boroboro Road for the construction. On January 25, 2021, the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) contracted M/S CMD Investments Ltd to construct the palace at an estimated cost of UGX 3.5 billion. The site was officially handed over to the contractor on February 20, 2021, by the late former Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah.
Oulanyah later officiated the groundbreaking ceremony for the palace in 2022. However, the project stalled after the contractor abandoned the site for unclear reasons, leaving the construction incomplete.
The unveiling of the new project management committee marks a renewed effort to revive the palace construction project and fulfill the cultural and administrative aspirations of the Lango people. As the committee assumes its role, the foundation aims to address previous setbacks and ensure that the palace becomes a reality for the Lango community.