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How Musita-Namayingo tarmac road has turned around fortunes
Infrastructure. A section of the completed road from Musita, Mayuge District connecting to Lumino in Busia District through Namayingo District. Residents say the road is already boosting trade in the area. PHOTO BY DENIS EDEMA
What you need to know:
- In Busia Town, on Majanji Road, a 50x100 plot, which hitherto went for Shs25m, has eclipsed the Shs100m mark.
- Mr Geoffrey Wandera, the Busia district LC5 chairperson, said the new road has decongested the Busia-Jinja road and has made transport between the two districts much cheaper and quicker.
Residents on the Musita-Namayingo-Busia Road cannot hide their joy as the newly tarmacked Musita-Namayingo road nears completion.
In 2004, President Museveni promised to tarmac the road. Earlier this year, the executive director of Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra), Ms Allen Kagina, said she expects the works to be completed before the end of this year.
With the works now nearing completion, residents expect to reap big, while some are already basking in the benefits that have accrued from the development process.
Boost on trade
Mr Majid Kirinya, a taxi driver at the Namayingo stage, on Sunday said before asphalt was added to the road, they were taking ‘almost a whole day’ to reach Musita, from Namayingo.
“Before the construction of this road, we were spending nearly a whole day driving between Namayingo and Musita because of potholes and mud during the rainy season, but it now takes us 45 minutes,” Mr Kirinya said.
He added that transport costs from Namayingo to Kampala have also significantly reduced from ‘over Shs25,000’ to ‘less than Shs20,000’.
Mr Muhamad Baba Baba, another driver, who plies the Busia-Namayingo route, said the new road has reduced the cost of repairing his vehicle.
“I would go to the garage on a weekly basis to either have my shock absorbers fixed, but since it is near completion, maintenance costs on my vehicle has reduced,” he said.
Mr Ronald Sanya, the Namayingo District chairperson, said the road will help farmers in Mayuge, Iganga, Bugiri and Namayingo districts to easily market their produce.
Mr Sanya said farmers exporting sugarcane to Kenya from Busoga Sub-region and other business people are already using the road because it is near and has less traffic.
Plots for sale
Plots of land on the road have also appreciated. In Busia Town, on Majanji Road, a 50x100 plot, which hitherto went for Shs25m, has eclipsed the Shs100m mark.
Mr Kopolyano Wandera, a resident of Busia Town, said Majanji Street had initially turned into a ‘ghost street’, but the looming completion is now changing the face of the area.
The construction of the road has seen four fuel stations established between Lumino and Busia, which has also employed several youths as pump operators and office attendants.
Mr Geoffrey Wandera, the Busia district LC5 chairperson, said the new road has decongested the Busia-Jinja road and has made transport between the two districts much cheaper and quicker.
“I have now embarked on lobbying for the construction of the road between Mulwanda and Lumino, which will easily connect Uganda to Kenya and boost trade activities,” Mr Wandera said.
