Districts struggle to maintain roads

The majority of districts are grappling with bad roads, a problem that has been exacerbated by torrential rains.
Many feeder roads, used by traders and farmers to take their merchandise to the market, are currently impassable.

Some district leaders say they cannot effectively fix the damaged roads because many of their road construction equipment is not functional.

District leaders also say they are struggling to maintain equipment due to financial constraints and lack of technical expertise. 

Ms Betty Mujungu, the deputy mayor of Fort Portal City, says the shortage of functional equipment has forced them to hire machines from neighbouring districts. 

In Ntoroko, the district chairperson, Mr William Kasoro, says to work on roads, they hire equipment from the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) Mountain Division. 

In Kigezi Sub-region, local leaders say the equipment they received cannot manage the rocky terrain.

The Kisoro District Chairman, Mr Abel Bizimana, the Rubanda District Chairman, Mr Stephen Kasyaba, and the Kanungu District Council Speaker, Mr Frank Byaruhanga, all say they need at least one new excavator for each district if the road maintenance and opening new ones is to be successful.

“The equipment we received was of poor quality. We are spending a lot of money repairing it since the tear and wear are high because of the rocky terrain. We appeal for the timely release of the road funds and the central government should separately fund the repair and maintenance of the district road equipment since it is an expensive venture,” Mr Bizimana says. 

Mr Kasyaba says the government should allow the district authorities to use part of the Road Fund to buy big culverts for the proper drainage of stormwater that has become a threat to feeder roads.

“Most of our roads are in bad shape during the rainy season because stormwater destroys them after silting the small culverts installed,” he explains.

In West Nile, many roads are in a dilapidated state despite the ongoing repair works. The Karuma-Pakwach-Nebbi-Arua Road is undergoing major repairs but the road users are becoming impatient with the slow progress of the work. 

The contractor working on 35km Alwi-Nebbi Road, China Railway 18 Bureau Group of Company, says the untimely release of funds by Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) is delaying the rehabilitation of the roads.

“Because of such delays, the Shs104b construction works on Alwi-Nebbi Road which started in October 2021 with a project timeline of three years will not be achieved,” Mr  Ernest Tumwesigye, the deputy project manager of China Railway 18 Bureau Group of Company, says. 

The locals say the delay has affected their businesses, especially in urban areas, where excavations have been done in front of their shops.

The Manibe-Yumbe-Obongi road, the Nebbi-Goli-Paidha-Warr-Arua Road, the Koboko-Yumbe-Moyo Road and the Pakwach-Rhino Camp Road have continued to claim lives of passengers due to the rough surface. 

Mr Didas Tabaro, Mbarara District chairperson, says the ongoing rain has damaged roads in the area, yet the available road unit is too old to do serious work.

“My appeal is that the government at least allocates about Shs100m to each sub-county and town council to enable them to do the work,” he says.

Mr Richard Owomugasho, Rwampara District chairperson, says: “Rwampara being a new district, we have never received any road equipment.  The money for road maintenance is not enough.  Even with the Shs1b that was given to districts, you find we are working on some and others are not considered.”

Mr Bonny Tashobya, Mbarara City Speaker, says they managed to purchase equipment but maintaining them is difficult.

Mr Aaron Turahi, Isingiro District chairperson, says: “You cannot allocate the same Shs1b to Isingiro District that has 30 lower units as Kazo District which has only four sub-counties, that’s an imbalance. Generally, our roads are in poor shape.”

In the eastern district of Katakwi, the chairperson, Mr Geoffrey Omolo, says their equipment often breaks down yet repairs are only done at the government mechanical hub in Jinja.

“We need these hubs to be regionalised if we are to improve the state of roads across the region,” he says.

Mr Francis Akorikin, the chairperson of Kapelebyong District, says the lack of functional road equipment has forced many districts to share a few equipment that is still operable.

In Tororo, the local leaders and residents want the government to consider releasing emergency funds to help the district rehabilitate bad roads.

According to the district engineer Andrew Asaya, the majority of the roads and bridges have been damaged.
“Nearly most of our roads are not in motorable state due to the heavy rains that washed most of the road surface,” he says. 

Mr John Okeya, the chairperson of Tororo District, says the road connecting the districts of Tororo and Manafwa via Kwapa Town Council and Butiru Sub-county is cut off and more than Shs1b is needed to fix it.

“The current poor status of roads in the district has affected access to social services and it requires emergency funding from the government,” he says. 

Slow pace
In Apac District, the rehabilitation of feeder roads is moving at a slow pace despite the district receiving Shs500m from the government.

Mr Fred Kejeron Odur, the chairperson of works and technical services, attributes this to lack of fully functional road equipment.

In the island district of Kalangala, only 12km stretch from Lulindi to Semawundo that the district started working on nearly a year ago, remains incomplete. 

 Mr Rajab Semakula, the Kalangala District chairperson, says roadworks were slowed down by the current rain. 
 “The government gave us Shs500m for the two quarters, but we have only worked on one road which isn’t also completed yet,” he says.

However, Mr Semakula says the district is planning to repair a bulldozer currently parked at Mugoye Sub-county to begin maintenance of roads on Buggala Island.

In Kyotera, the district spends almost 10 percent of its roads budget on maintaining old equipment.
Mr Patrick Kintu Kisekulo, the district chairperson, says the equipment regularly breaks down yet the regional workshop is far away in Mbarara.

Mr Vincent Birimuye, the vice chairperson of Lwengo District, says the district has over 400km of roads, but they are unable to maintain them due to poor funding from the central government.

Persistent heavy rains and delayed release of funds have been blamed for the poor road networks in Jinja City.

The Jinja City Secretary for Works, Mr Juma Ssozi, says Shs500m released by the government as part of the Shs1b each district was supposed to get this financial year to work on bad roads had to remain on the district account for some time because of persistent rain. 

“We received half of the money the government promised for roads in the first quarter but never utilised it immediately because we feared the heavy rains would wash away whatever work we would be doing,” Mr Ssozi says. 

He, however, says after the release of the first half of the money, the last release failed to come on time for them to be able to work on the planned roads.

Mr Ssozi says besides limited funding, the city does not have its own road equipment following the breakdown of the one tractor they had.

Compiled by Al –Mahdi Ssenkabirwa, Felix Ainebyoona Alex Ashaba Rajab Mukombozi, Coslin Nakayiira Joseph Omollo, Denis Edema, Fred Wambede, Richard Kyanjo, Alex Ashaba Robert Muhereza, Naume Biiram Santo Ojok Simon Peter EmwamuFelix Warom Okello, Patrick Okaba & Clement Aluma, Abubaker Kirunda, David ssewakiryanga