Council want Kaguta road reconstructed
Inspection. Officials from Unra, Ntungamo Municipality, and Zhongmei Construction Company inspect works on Kaguta road in Ntungamo Town on Wednesday. PHOTO BY PEREZ RUMANZI
Ntungamo.
Ntungamo Municipal Council officials have cited poor workmanship on Kaguta Road and want some sections of the road reconstructed.
The Mayor of Ntungamo Municipality, Mr Jacob Kafureka, the town clerk, Mr Christopher Ahimbisibwe, and councillors said some sections of the road were constructed in a way that makes some parts of the town inaccessible while others are not compatible with the town plan.
Works on the 1.3 kilometre Kaguta Road are part of Ntungamo-Mirama Hills road construction project contracted to Zhongmei Construction Company.
“When you look at the way the road has been done, it makes doing business in the town difficult yet our aim is to facilitate this in the most easy and convenient way,” said Mr Ahimbisibwe.
He was speaking at a meeting between officials from Ntungamo council, Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) and Zhongmei Construction Company at the Municipal Council Hall on Wednesday.
The meeting was called after a section of the councillors petitioned the executive director of Unra over the road’s poor design and workmanship.
The council authorities want roundabouts fixed at the Mirama Hills Road and Kaguta-Mbarara Road junctions. Mr Elias Kakyafu, the Kyamate ward councillor, said without a roundabout and widening of the road at the Mirama Hill Road junction, there will be a rise in accidents.
Mr Kafureka blamed the poor workmanship on Unra saying several earlier pleas by council officials to meet them and the contractor over the matter fell on deaf ears. He said the meeting has come when the work is almost complete.
The Unra project engineer, Mr Paddy Ahimbisibwe, however, said most of the demands by the council were not captured in the original contract and the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
However, the municipal authorities said they have never signed a MoU with the contractor and neither did they know that there was such a requirement.
The public relations officer of Zhongmei, Ms Dorris Amutuheire, said the contractor followed technical drawings of the road, and that it will only be redone when the contract has been reviewed.
