Residents in Buikwe appeal to govt over highway accidents

Unless the Ministry of Works and Uganda National Roads Authority move in to work on the potholes along the Jinja-Kampala highway, accidents will continue claiming lives, a local leader has warned.

The chairperson of Najjemba Sub-county in Buikwe District, Mr Willy Kiwanuka, said this during prayers held on Monday at the sub-county headquarters for people who perished in road accidents along the route last year.

“This road is in a pathetic situation and those concerned must move in very fast and work on it to save people from dying in road accidents as a result of these potholes,’’ Mr Kiwanuka said.

Police hailed
However, he also hailed the traffic police who he said have managed to curb reckless driving and speeding, adding on that the major problem remains with the potholes.

The highway is currently under rconstruction, but people who talked to this newspaper said the construction was too slow. They appealed to the contractor to first work on the areas that are badly damaged.

Mr Mukasa Issa, a taxi driver, who attended the prayers, asked the Ministry of Works to allow them fill these potholes with soil for the meantime as they wait for sterling.

‘’We can mobilise our people and do that because for sure this is too much, and very soon this highway may become impassable,’’ he said.

Spot repairs
UNRA spokesperson Dan Alinange said MS Sterling was contracted to do spot reconstruction between Mukono and Jinja and also to put a new layer on the entire road.

Mr Alinange said the Shs30 billion project is expected to be finished by December.