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Kalangala locals raise alarm over roadworks
A flooded section of Lutakome Road in Kalangala Town Council, whose construction has been stalled. Residents say the contractor left huge heaps of soil on the road, which blocks access to their homes. PHOTO | SYLVESTER SSEMUGENYI
What you need to know:
- Background. In 2013, the government through a public-private partnership unveiled a multi-million dollar project to spur economic growth in Kalangala District. However, many roads in the area are still in a sorry state. Recently, motorists using the Luuku –Mulabana-Kalangala road also expressed concern over its deteriorating state.
Residents from the three villages of Bugala, Kibanga and Kalangala Ward A in Kalangala Town Council are up in arms over the delayed completion of a major road in the area.
Construction of the 1.33km Lutakome Road was halted in May without any explanation from the contractor and town council leadership.
In an August 14, 2021, letter addressed to the Office of the Resident District Commissioner, Mr Apollo Mugume, the residents in the three affected villages demanded to know why the contractor abandoned the site before completing work.
Residents say the contractor left huge heaps of soil on the road, which blocks access to their homes while others said the tractors destroyed their crops.
Mr Wilson Mukwaya, a resident of Kalangala Town Council, said if the road is not repaired by the end of November, they will be forced to plant banana suckers in the middle of the road to protest its poor state.
“December is usually a busy month for islanders that is when we receive a big number of tourists; where will they pass when the road is impassable?” he wondered during an interview on Monday.
“We call upon the town council to at least seal the potholes using the machinery that they have,” he added
The contractor was also supposed to work on other roads such as Kibanga, Kufuufu, Kawugulu and Bugala.
Ms Margret Nagita, another affected resident, said the contractor exceeded the agreed width of the road and in the process destroyed her crops.
Mr Robert Ssebalamu, the chairperson of Bugala Village, said it will be unfair if the affected residents are not compensated for the losses they have incurred.
“There was a budget for this project and since work was not completed, the leaders should explain where they put the money,” he said
Mr Deus Nuwamanya from Rock and Dirt Solutions, a consulting agency for the road works, said there were some flaws in the road design, which they have since rectified and work will resume soon.
“We applied deep excavation, which was unnecessary, and after thorough lab examinations of the soils, we proposed to acquire more funds to apply rock fill material to cover the already existing gravel layers,” he said, adding: “The road works are expected to resume as early as November and we urge residents to remain calm.”
Mr Jeremiah Ssemakula, the Kalangala Town Council engineer, said there was no specific contractor for the project and it was the town council which carried out road works.
Daily Monitor has learnt that a total of Shs900m was spent on the project.
