Works on poor road start after 40 years

Residents of Bugobi Sub-county and Bugobi Town Council in Namutumba District are all smiles after works on the close-to-seven-kilometre Bugobi-Nakazinga Road started early this month.

The works will cost about Shs461 million.

Mr Moses Mugoya, the contract manager in the Ministry of Works and Transport, on Tuesday told this publication: “This road has been bad for quite several years, but the district has not been able to work on it because it has a small budget.” 

He said M/S Mawani International Ltd has been contracted to do the works.

The Namutumba District Assistant Engineer, Mr Nicodemus Nkobe, said the road is 5.6 metres wide and requests the contractor to follow what is in the bidding document.

“Sometimes, challenges come when the contractor does the opposite; this time, we are very strict because Shs461m is a lot of money and we expect quality work. We also appeal to those using the road while construction is ongoing, especially boda boda riders, not to ride recklessly,” he added.

The Bugobi Town Council Chairperson, Mr Sam Katoke, said the road has been impassible for more than 40 years, and is happy to see works going on, raising optimism that businesses are going to sprout, while transportation of goods and raw materials is going to be easy.

The Namutumba LC5 Chairperson, Mr David Mukisa, said several roads in the district are in a sorry state because of inadequate funds.

“Imagine Shs461m is going to be spent on a 6.9km road, yet the district is using Shs382m to work on all roads for an entire financial year,” he said.

The Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of Namutumba, Mr Emmanuel Ofwono, said the roadworks take six months and requested the contractor to work within the agreed timeframe.

The Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Mr Thomas Matende, said the road will not be commissioned if poorly done. Instead, he warned the contractor would be arrested and the contract cancelled.

Ms Mariam Naigaga, the Namutumba District Woman Member of Parliament, asked the contractor to work with local leaders and warned people against vandalising road materials.

Her Busiki Constituency counterpart, Mr Paul Akamba, asked the contractor to put proper drainage systems to avoid destruction of the murram road during rainy seasons.

Benefits
The Itengesa Village Chairperson, Mr Joshua Mukose, said they plan to open up a weekly market in Nakazinga Trading Centre to boost local revenue has come true because the place is going to be accessible.

“The sub-county revenue is going to increase as several businesses are going to sprout along the road,” he said.

Ms Tibafana Logose, a resident of Nakazinga Village in Bugobi Sub-county, said: “Because we now have a road in our area, we request the government to construct a seed school and health centre III so that people can benefit from their services.”