The 16-year-old insurgency in northern Uganda took a new turn on December 28 when a man claiming to be the Lord's Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony called the Gulu-based Mega FM radio station during a political debate to say that he was ready for peace talks with the government.

This is the first time that Ugandans have directly heard from the much-feared rebel leader, and the immediate reaction from the public was that Kony's move meant peace might finally return to the troubled region.

However, responses from various government officials, including President Yoweri Museveni, did not give the impression that peace was around the corner. Instead, the two sides have been trading accusations about who is to blame for the failure of past peace efforts.

While it is important that Kony demonstrate that he is indeed interested in peace, it may not be important or even necessary at this point to apportion blame for past failures. Suffice it to say that each side has at one time or another not done enough to help bring about a peaceful end to the conflict that has brought untold suffering to the people in the region.

It is five months since the government set up its negotiating team, led by Second Deputy Prime Minister Eriya Kategaya, following incessant appeals to the government to talk peace with the rebels. However, the rebels are opposed to the condition that they first assemble in one place along the Uganda/Sudan border before peace talks begin.

But since the rebels say they want peace, the LRA should announce its negotiating team so that the talks can start right away. Peace in the north is the best gift that the government and the LRA can give to Ugandans in the New Year. Peace will not come on its own; all parties to the conflict must be prepared to make concessions and swallow their pride.

There is much that the government can do in 2003 instead of continuing to fight. For instance, the economy has begun slowing down and the threat of economic stagnation is real as the war in the north continues to bleed the economy.

The performance of the poverty eradication action plan has been, frankly, poor, especially on security, good governance and raising the incomes of the poor. Key social services such as health, water and sanitation have deteriorated due to under-funding, corruption and mismanagement.

The government also needs to invest in areas that enhance productivity, such as the modernisation of agriculture, improved capacity and efficiency in electricity supply, and enhanced access to investment finance by reforming the financial sector.