UNRA boss warns Tororo Cement as road damages eat up extra Shs23b

MBALE. Uganda taxpayers risk paying an extra Shs23 billion in repair of the Namunsi- Sironko- Muyembe road to offset the damage caused by heavy Tororo Cement trucks.
Mr Jack Mugabe, the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation [CCECC] engineering consultant, said the damaged sections could cost taxpayers an extra Shs23 billion to have the road completed. But Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) executive director Allen Kagina has warned the loss incurred would be transferred to Uganda Cement Industry (UCI), Tororo.

CCECC won the contract to build the Namunsi-Sironko-Muyembe road at a cost of Shs54b but is asking for another Shs23b to offset the damages caused by the heavy trucks. This means the Namunsi-Sironko-Muyembe road construction is likely to cost the Ugandan taxpayer a total of Shs 77b.
More than 40 trucks carrying limestone, pozzolanic rocks and marble from Kosiroi mining site in Karamoja ply the route daily as they ferry the raw material to Tororo for the manufacture of cement.

According to residents on the road, the heavy trucks have extensively damaged the road surface, making movement in smaller vehicles an ordeal for travellers to Kapchorwa, Sironko, Bulambuli, Amudat and Nakapiripirit districts.
For nearly 15 years, UCI trucks have been plying the Namunsi-Muyembe, Karamoja and Kapchorwa routes to Kaserem [Kapchorwa] and Oruk limestone mining sites in Kosiroi for pozzolanic rocks that are used in the production of cement.
“My company needs more Shs23 billion to work on the roads damaged by Tororo trucks because of heavy load, this will increase the amount from the original Shs54 billion to Shs77 billion,” said Mr Mugabe.

But Ms Kagina, who has already dispatched her law enforcement officers to camp in Karamoja sub-region and Mbale District to arrest whoever is found driving heavy trucks overloaded with marble stones, warned UCI, Tororo, that they risked being stopped from ferrying limestone.
“We have formally written to UCI and warned them but they have refused to heed. They have kept destroying the road and even if they claimed they pay taxes, soon they will not be able to pay the taxes because the road will not be there. They must stop and we are going to give them a stern warning this time,” said Ms. Kagina.

“And the loss of Shs23 billion is a high loss to government that must be transferred to them to pay,” added Ms. Kagina.
She said UNRA will make it a must that UCI pays fine for the drivers of trucks overloaded with cargo and for the costly damage they cause to the roads.
She cautioned other transporters against overloading their trucks as this damages the road, reduces its life span and increases the cost of maintenance and warned local residents to desist from encroaching on road reserves.
But the UCI’s logistics and utility manager, Mr. David Omido, said UCI has built bridges and carried out several road repairs in the sub-region, a development that should not be ignored.