Karuma Bridge mess says a lot about us

Starting yesterday, the Karuma bridge overpass closed to lorries, trailers and buses to allow for  planned three-month emergency works after  experts found “some elements of the structure (the concrete deck) have deteriorated, particularly on the Kampala approach lane’.

This newspaper reported, quoting Mr Lawrence Pario, the head of Bridges and Structures at Uganda National Roads Authority, that the structural failings that prompted the closure of the bridge on River Nile to heavy-duty traffic were first detected 15 years ago

Curiously, the bridge that was built in 1963, was designed to last for 50 years, which lapsed in 2013, with additional years of use called “service life”, which now requires rehabilitation.

So for 60 years, we have not actualized a plan to avoid the inconvenience being caused to travellers. For 15 years, we have ignored the faults, and done little or nothing tangible to stem what now looks like a crisis.

While we appreciate that such infrastructure doesn’t come cheap – and needs vast financial lobbying and revenue generation - we also need to hold ourselves accountable where need be. 

There have been claims of failure to get grants to build the facility after some donors played ping-pong over the viability of the project. But the government has been able to generate revenue enough to finance the works, but the reported wastage of public resources in many corners, including of officials corrupt to the core, cannot help us see this through.

The recent outcry over high taxation has largely not been that Ugandans don’t want to pay tax, but they are eager to see that the money is put to good use, and infrastructure, health, and education have been the main areas they desire the government to pay attention to.

Now, the very taxpayers who have given almost every penny they earn to the taxman, have to pay the price of travelling long distances for lack of planning in some quarters. It reflects terribly on the government.

We reported that traveling to or from Lira to Kampala via the east will be longer than using Gulu highway, with a turn to Lira off Corner Kamdini trading centre.

Transport operators and business leaders predicted that transport fares and prices of commodities in affected upcountry destinations were likely to rise.

We should be able to do better than this.