Fed-up Oyam farmers repair district road with own hands

Residents of Ogwangapur Parish in Acaba sub-county, Oyam District, have been struggling to fix a district road that has not been repaired for the last 10 years.

Men, women, and youth on Monday started repairing the eight-kilometre road that stretches from Obangangeo to Atipe Health Centre III using rudimentary tools. This was after waiting patiently for their leaders to address the pathetic state of the road in vain.

In this northern district, farmers engage in mostly subsistence farming to feed their families and sell their surplus to raise money to meet family needs such as health and education.

For them to exploit the potential of agriculture, they must be supported with a good road network to transport their goods to market.

However, the impacts of good roads are like fairy tales for the community of Ogwangapur, as they are ravaged by accidents caused by the inaccessible road that would link them to the outside world.

Mr Emmy Emuna Elem, the area LC2 chairman, said they had to mobilize members of the community to try to fix the district road following a series of accidents.

“On March 15, 2024, a woman who was returning from Aber Hospital with her bouncing baby she delivered from the health facility fell off a motorcycle. Both the mother and her newborn almost lost their lives,” he told this publication on Friday

“When that accident happened, we realized that the poor state of the road was going to cause more problems. On April 25, 2024, we convened a meeting where members of the community unanimously agreed to fix the road using their own hands,” he added.

Ms Milly Olugo, a resident, said the poor road network has affected access to maternal and child health services.

Ms Mary Anwongo, a member of the Village Health Team, recalled their road was last rehabilitated in 2014.

“When sick children are brought to us, and we refer them to health facilities, there is no way they can access the facilities, and this forces people to go to clinics where services are either very poor or expensive. So, we decided to work on the road ourselves other than waiting for leaders who do not care about us, to fix it,” she said.

Mr Peter Olet, the administrator of Timagi Community Medical Centre, said the problem has hindered the development of the area and has led to poor access to quality education and health services.

Oyam District secretary for Works and Technical Services, Mr. Brian Ogutu, thanked the voters for the initiative.

 “All of us are leaders in our various capacities; at your home, in the area where you live, and therefore, I want to appreciate them very much but also to apologize to them. As district leadership, we are doing everything humanly possible to serve our community,” he said.

He promised the locals that several roads would be worked in the next financial year using money from the World Bank-funded Rural Infrastructure Development project.

Mr Benson Walter Dilla, the district chairman, said his administration is going to rehabilitate the Obangangeo-Atipe Health Centre III Road because he has a lot of interest in it.

“The District Road Committee headed by the area Woman Member of Parliament, Ms Santa Alum Ogwang, approved all the roads to be worked on. And Uganda Road Fund (URF) gave us Shs117 million in this financial year and the Road Committee allotted it to Wekwiawe-Ayomapwono Primary School-Adigo Health Centre II road, next financial year we shall work on other roads,” he said.

He named the roads earmarked for periodic maintenance as Okure-Omac Primary School-Abere market, and Okule Trading Centre in Minakulu sub-county up to Acimi in Myene Sub-county, among others.

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