Unease in Mbarara City over poor state of bridges

Residents and leaders of Mbarara City South Division have decried the deteriorating state of bridges in the area.
They say several people have been killed while using the bridges. The business community also says they have suffered losses as a result of the poor state of the bridges, which hinder movement.
The affected bridges include Kanyeyite, which connects Kakoba-Nyakaizi to Karugangama village-Katete Ward; Taso Village Bridge, which connects the city to Nyamitanga Ward; and Katete Main Bridge, which connects the Mbarara City business centre to Katete Main.

Mr Steven Malish, a student at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), says his colleagues prefer to use Taso Village Bridge because it provides a shorter route to the university for learners staying in hostels.
He, however, says during the rainy season, it is risky to use the bridge.
“Sometimes when the river fills to the brim, we cannot cross the bridge, and recently, it collapsed. We were forced to use the Nyamitanga road and it was so costly since one pays Shs3,000 on boda boda to school every day. We ask the government to intervene and have the bridge fixed,” he says.

Mr Rashid Monday, a resident of Kakoba-Nyakaizi, says Karugangama Bridge is made out of wood, a factor that makes it risky to use.

“All the bridges in our town are in a poor state, our relatives, friends, and school-going children have died while crossing these bridges, especially in rainy seasons. Our leaders have paid a deaf ear to our pleas,” he says.
Mr Muhammed Byansi, a councillor of Mbarara City South A, says: “Taso Village Bridge, where most university students cross as they go to Kitobero, Nyamitanga, is in the worst state. For us to be safe, heavy trucks should consider alternative routes and stop using the bridges because the worst scenario is yet to come.”
Mr Byansi says Mbarara City Council cannot fix the bridges because it is financially constrained and gets less funding from the Ministry of Works and Transport.

“The issue of the bridges has never been considered in the national budget. We were told the bridge could be worked on in two years,” he says.
The Mbarara City Deputy Mayor, Ms Prisca Murongo, says they have had several meetings with the Ministry of Works and Transport to address the issue but these have not yielded tangible results.
“The issue of bridges has affected the day-to-day activities of residents. For instance, at Taso Village Bridge during the rainy season, many people fall in the river,” she adds.

Mr Assay Abireebe, the city town clerk, says it is the mandate of the Ministry of Works and Transport to fix the bridges.
 “A team from the ministry visited these areas and the cost required to fix the three bridges is in the range of Shs18b to Shs20b, and that is far beyond our capacity as the city. Bridges can only be fixed by the central government,” he says. 

“We have been pushing because we want to have them fixed one after the other, so far the government has already promised to give us resources for the Katete main bridge only,” he adds.
Mr Abireebe says the city was only allocated Shs500m to fix Katete main bridge. 
 “… it won’t do much because the Ministry of Works put the cost of the works at Shs6.9b, but certainly, we would have loved to have a proper bridge that connects Katete to the city centre,” he says.

Mr Abireebe says the state of the bridges makes it hard for business people to operate in the affected areas which lowers local revenue.
“We are still talking to the government to ensure that they give us the Shs6.9b they promised. After we have finished Katete Main Bridge, which has a lot of traffic, we shall then look at Kanyeyite, then after we work on Taso Village Bridge,” he says.

Ministries react

Ms Susan Kataike, the head of communications at the Ministry of Works and Transport, says the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development has not yet released the funds for the works. 
“The reason why the work has not been done is because there was no release. Leaders should be focusing on ensuring that Ministry of Finance releases the money,” she said.
Ms Kataike says the Works ministry implements construction works depending on the money released.

 “If Ministry of Finance has not given us money then we cannot work. And as soon as the ministry releases the funds, definitely we will do the work,” she says.
Efforts to get a comment on the matter from the Finance ministry permanent secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, Mr Ramathan Ggoobi, were futile. When contacted yesterday, he said he was busy and hang up.