Wakiso to get Shs15b for roads

At work Contractors tarmacking Namasuba-Ndejje road in Makindye Ssabagabo Municipality last year. PHOTO BY JAMES KABWENGWA

What you need to know:

  • Quoting budget estimates released to all districts by the Uganda Road Fund last week, in the 2018/19 financial year, the district will get Shs15b for road maintenance projects, an amount almost two times more than what it received the previous year.
  • Last year, Wakiso got Shs7b.
  • According to the district engineer, Mr Sam Mwesigwa, the funds will be channelled through the Uganda Road Fund.

Following back–and- forth lobbying, government has finally accepted to allocate more money towards repairing roads in Wakiso District.

Quoting budget estimates released to all districts by the Uganda Road Fund last week, in the 2018/19 financial year, the district will get Shs15b for road maintenance projects, an amount almost two times more than what it received the previous year. Last year, Wakiso got Shs7b.

According to the district engineer, Mr Sam Mwesigwa, the funds will be channelled through the Uganda Road Fund.
The funding comes at a time when many access roads in the district are covered with potholes with some almost inaccessible.
“With the funding, at least 90 per cent of the roads will be expanded and graveled,” Mr Mwesigwa revealed.
He added: “Much of the funds will go to buying fuel for the road equipment and operators allowances, buying murrum and culverts.”

According to Mr Mwesigwa, the district needs at least Shs50 billion annually to upgrade all murrum roads to bitumen standards. The district has so far tarmacked 20 kilometres of the 536kms roads.
Last year Shs9.5 billion was allocated for tarmacking of the roads. Mr Mwesigwa says Ministry of Finance has given them only Shs6.5b in the coming financial year. “This means we will tarmac few roads but we shall continue lobbying government to see that additional funds are availed,” he said. Makindye Ssabagabo Municipality, which falls under Wakiso, will receive Shs900m. Last financial year it received Shs2.5billion.

The municipality engineer, Mr Geoffrey Ndiwalana, told Daily Monitor that with more resource allocations, the municipality will be able to undertake low-cost tarmac roads and widen a number of access roads.
Mr James Jolobo, the Kira Municipality engineer, said they have already prioritised roads and that with funding from the World Bank project roads such as Kira-Najeera, Bulabira-Kulambiro, Lukadde-Kireka, Kyaliwajjala-Kito, Agenda-Mbalwa-Namugongo, Namugongo Protestant Shrines-Janda-Nsansa will be improved.

Government in a circular last week announced fund releases to all local governments. A total of Shs153 billion was allocated to the districts, Shs194billion released to all municipalities with town councils taking almost Shs3billion. Most of the districts received between Shs2billion and Shs350million.

FUNDING
Wakiso is administered under three units. The district directly manages eight sub-counties of Bussi,Kakiri, Kasanje,Masuliita, Mende, Namayumba,Wakiso and Ssisa. These were last year allocated a total of Shs553 million. The nine town councils recieved Shs2 billion.