Heavy rain washes away 800kms of roads in Busia
Men struggle to free a truck that got stuck between Lumuli and Muyembe Tayari on Hukemo-Omwenya road in Busia District at the weekend. PHOTO | DAVID AWORI
What you need to know:
- Mr Samson Wandera, a trader dealing in vegetables, said he used to pay Shs7,000 for motorcycle hire fees to take his merchandise to Busia market, but because of the bad roads, he now has to pay Shs20,000, which has reduced his profit margin.
At least Shs5 billion is needed to rehabilitate about 800kms of roads that have been washed away by heavy rain in Busia District, authorities have said.
Mr George Mwidu, the district engineer, said of the 523kms of district roads and 300 community access roads, more than 42 percent of the network is in a poor state and nearly impassable following heavy rain.
“Most of our roads have been washed by the heavy rains, while the culverts are damaged, which has made many swampy areas impassable,” Mr Mwidu said in an interview at the weekend.
He named some of the worst affected roads as Hukemo-Bwaniha, Lumuli- Majanji, Ajuket-Amonikakinei and Mayombe-Buwumba, which are in the sub-counties of Lunyo, Busime, Majanji, Dabani and Buteba, respectively.
According to Mr Mwidu, whereas the roads have been rendered impassable due to heavy rain, a decline in funding from the Uganda National Road Fund (URF) has made it difficult for the district to make any significant repairs.
He added: “Funding from UNRF declined annually to Shs400m, which is not enough to do the district and community access roads. If the roads were to be fully rehabilitated, the district would need not less than Shs5b.”
Most of that money, he said, would have all the roads rehabilitated, culverts installed, trenches opened and grading undertaken.
The district has, however, received Shs1b for roads maintenance for this financial year following a directive by President Museveni that money be given to all municipalities and districts.
Plans
Mr Mwidu says they are embarking on rehabilitating three major roads, including Nahayaka-Masaba-Lumuli (23kms), Masafu-Butote-Busikho (3.6kms) and Tiira-Ajuket-Amonikakinei (4.4kms).
According to Mr Mwidu, the activities, which are being undertaken under mechanised routine maintenance, will involve graveling, compaction, bush clearing, and placement of culverts, all at a cost of Shs223m.
Mr John Sikenyi, the Bwaniha Parish chairperson, said the Hukemo-Bwaniha road, which connects to Omwenya Landing Site, has been washed away at several sections, making it hard for vehicles to access the area.
“Busime has activities of lake sand mining, fishing and farming, but the bad roads are making it hard to access the area,” Mr Sikenyi said.
He added that sick children and women in labour are the most-affected as they have to deliver along the way while being taken to hospital.
Mr Samson Wandera, a trader dealing in vegetables, said he used to pay Shs7,000 for motorcycle hire fees to take his merchandise to Busia market, but because of the bad roads, he now has to pay Shs20,000, which has reduced his profit margin.
