The road gods remember Wakiso commuters

Rehabilitation of the 9km Mbogo and Cyprian Kizito roads, popularly known as Kira-Najjera-Bulindo Road, which has for long been the stretch for traffic gridlock during rush hours, was yesterday launched by Vice President Jessica Alupo as the government activated the 2023-2028 Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area Urban Development Programme (GKMA-UDP) and Greater Kampala Integrated Urban Development Master Plan.

The GKMA-UDP project will benefit Greater Kampala that covers Kampala City, the municipalities of Kira, Nansana, Entebbe, Mukono, Makindye-Ssabagabo, and the districts of Wakiso, Mpigi, and, Mukono. 

The Mbogo and Cyprian Kizito roads will be upgraded by the Chongqing International Construction Company (Cico), which is also working on the Kira-Kasangati Road in the vicinity. 

The Kira-Najjera-Bulindo Road is considered as one of the worst roads in Greater Kampala, provoking outcries by both commuters and people who operate small businesses on the stretch.

Rose Namiiro, a roadside food vendor, said most of her customers had abandoned her hangout because of the bowls of dust.

“By the time you finish cooking, the entire food is brown. I have been surviving on the mercy of my loyal customers who brave the dust, but the new ones exit as quickly as they pop in without eating once they see the cakes of dust,” she said.

“Sometimes I am forced to prepare tea from home and carry it here in flasks or wake up very early before the taxis wheel up the brown dust. Now I believe this new development will be a game-changer,” she said.

Moses Ssonko, a chapatti seller at Kira Trading Centre, said: “You are lucky to come when some minor improvements have been made and it has rained, but the dust on this road has been terrible,” he said.

Many people, including residents, boda boda riders, taxi drivers, and business community, all sighed with relief that the rehabilitation of the roads will change their fortunes and rescue them from spending on medical care over dust-related respiratory ailments.

On the roadside are permanent residential structures and business blocks, as well as plantations covered with a blanket of dust, an indication that the road had suffered the cloud of dust for a while.

Mr Kawadwa Luyombya, the chairperson of Kira Village, said both tenants and house owners had abandoned most of the residential buildings by the roadside.

“Some owners told me they would only return when the road is rebuilt as they had failed to sustain potential tenants who only peep in and walk away from the dust-covered area.

The challenges are not limited to residents and homeowners alone but also motorists.

Andrew Kikomeko, a resident of Kira, who works in a law firm at Charm Towers in Kampala central business district, said he is often forced to spend more on fuel and mechanics because of the sorry state of the road.

“On a good road, my motor vehicle consumes between Shs100,000 and Shs150,000 a week from home to Kampala, but because of the traffic jam, I end up spending about Shs200,000 weekly. This is not limited to fuel but goes for car repairs, too, I must change the shock absorbers at least every five months because of portholes,” he said.

Mr Luyombya said the residents who lived by the roadside willingly gave up part of their land to facilitate the expansion of the road for a friendlier dust-free environment.

“For our road, there will be no compensation but each resident is giving between 3.5 feet and 4 feet on both sides to enable its expansion. At first, people were hesitant, saying the government might be deceiving them but after some convincing, nearly 90 percent of the residents in all the villages through which the road will pass, including here in Kira, Mulawa, Bulindo, Kiwologama, have given their consent,” he said.

Mr Julius Mutebi, the mayor of Kira municipality, like other residents, expressed optimism about the five-year project that he believes will change the face of Kira.

“After investing highly in Kampala roads, the government realised after consultation with Greater Kampala stakeholders that there was a need to construct roads in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area because there is a lot of jam as you exit and enter Kampala,” he said.

“It has been a long process of about five years but I am glad that it has materialised and I am happy that the maiden project has been inaugurated in Kira,” he added.

Mr Mutebi said Kira would see 29.4km of roads rehabilitated by the end of the five years, stretching through Kireka-Kamuli-Bethany Namugongo Road, the Namugongo Road, which runs through Buto-Kiito Road, Kikonko Road, Industrial Park Road, and a few other connecting roads.

President Museveni, in a speech read at the launch by Ms Alupo, admitted that the road network in Kampala and the metropolitan area is alarming. He said only 610km out of 2,100kms of the road network is tarmacked. He also said only 14.3 percent of the roads are paved and in good condition.

“This called for the need to invest more in urban transport infrastructure to facilitate public transport. The GKMA project will contribute to addressing the challenges in the metropolitan area that include flooding, traffic congestion, un-signalised junctions and poor road infrastructure, among others,” he said.

In 2013, the Cabinet approved the 2040 GKMA-UDP Framework, which gazetted GKMA as a Special Planning Area.

The plan

According to the plan, the government planned to design and construct 440.19km of roads, 19 markets, two slaughter areas, and 54.5km of storm water drainages.

Of these 72.06km, four markets and three storm water drainages totaling 22.5km were to be constructed in Kampala Capital City, 59.3km of roads, two markets, one slaughter house, and 2km storm water drainages in Mukono District local government. Makindye-Ssabagabo Municipal Council was to get 56.6km of roads, one market, a slaughterhouse, and two storm water drainages.

Wakiso District was earmarked to get 96.7km of roads, three markets, and one storm water drainage. Mukono Municipal Council was earmarked to get 45.1km of roads, two markets, and one storm water drainage.

Relatedly, Nansana Municipal Council was to get 48km of roads, one market, a skilling centre and three storm water drainages, while Mpigi District was to get 42.2km roads, and two markets.

Entebbe Municipality had been earmarked to benefit from 20.5km of roads, two markets and two storm water drainages, while Kira Municipality, the first beneficiary, would under the programme, get 46km roads and two markets.

The 2024 preliminary population and housing results by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics indicate that 5.8 million people live in the Greater Kampala region, representing 14 percent of national population.

Mr Museveni, in the speech, said 46 percent of formal sector workers and 70 percent of manufacturing firms with five or more employees contributing to nearly half of Uganda’s total Gross Domestic product live in this region.

“The programme started in the fiscal year 2023/2024, with financial support from the World Bank (credit of $518m (Shs1.9 trillion) and a grant of $48m (Shs177b); Agence Française de Development (AFD) contributed €40m (equivalent to $42.66m (Shs158b) as co-financing.

“I believe this shall support in meeting our NRM objectives to address the challenges in the GKMA. The project must address the above through construction of environmentally-resilient road infrastructure and signalised junctions, drainages, markets, incubation and skilling centres, taxi parks,” he said.

Road works
Kampala - 72km
Mukono District - 59.63km
Mukono Municipallity - 45.1km
Mpigi District -42.26km
Makindye-Ssabagabo - 56.6km
Wakiso District - 96.7km
Nansana Municipality - 48km
Entebbe Municipality - 20.5km
Kira Municipality - 46km