Govt halts maintenance of flood-hit roads

The government has halted the maintenance of roads that have been damaged by the heavy downpour until the rainy season stops.

The Minister of Works and Transport, Gen Katumba Wamala, directed the districts not to utilise the funds given to them for road maintenance during this rainy season.

“The district leadership countrywide is advised not to utilise the Shs1b disbursed for road maintenance during the heavy rains as they risk having it all washed away,” Gen Katumba said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

Uganda is experiencing El Nino with enhanced rainfall, which started in September, and is expected to continue to late December. Many roads and bridges have been washed away due to flooding, landslides and erosion in many parts of the country. Transportation of commodities by road has become difficult in the countryside.

Several other key road networks are at the risk of being washed away by rising water levels.
Gen Katumba said the maintenance of the roads will resume after the rainy season.

“…Once the rains subside, we will immediately embark on the restoration works to restore smooth connectivity,” he said.

He asked members of the public using the affected roads to bear with them. Even when the government resumes maintenance works, they don’t have enough resources to keep up with the standards.

Funding gaps
Last year, the Finance ministry cut the funding to the districts, especially resources for road infrastructure, due to the tough economic challenges caused by the lockdown to prevent the spread of Coronavirus pandemic.

Districts were unable to maintain the roads last year and they were promised to get funds in 2023 to cover lost ground.

However, they didn’t get additional funds for the road construction, leading to deterioration of roads and increase in potholes.

According to the Ministry of Works and Transport records, only 40 percent of the needed funds for maintenance are provided by the Ministry of Finance annually. This means that only Shs480b of the Shs1.1t needed for maintenance works for the entire country annually was released. 

The Ministry of Works and Transport got Shs4 trillion in the budget for the 2023/24 financial year.
On Monday, Bukanga North Member of Parliament Nathan Byanyima told officials in the Finance Ministry that as long as they continue reducing funds for road maintenance, the road network will not improve.

“As long as you continue reducing the money from road maintenance, we are finished. If you look at the road from Karuma to Pakwach [Northern Uganda]. You can imagine that road is hardly 15 years. Now, you are going for reconstruction because it lacks maintenance,” MP Byanyima said at the Annual Integrated Transport Infrastructure and Services conference in Kampala City.