Sub-county officials irked over idle road equipment

Buvuma. A section of sub-county chairpersons have castigated the top leadership in Buvuma District for failing to effectively utilise road construction and maintenance equipment that government donated to the district two years ago.

The chairpersons say the equipment is lying idle at Bugaya Island yet roads in the area are in a sorry state.

Mr Sebastian Okwale, the mayor Buvuma Town Council, said they were allocated Shs42m between January and March for road maintenance, but the district leadership refused to give them the equipment.

“All roads in various sub-counties are impassable in my town council. For example, I have Lukoma –Mutebi road of 4km and many others measuring 18km. We cannot work on the roads because the equipment is managed by the district. When we talk to the district engineer, he does not give us answers,” Mr Okwale said.

“We are most likely to lose that money because of reluctance of the district leadership,” he added.
A visit to Nairambi, Busamuzi sub-counties and Buvuma Town Council, established that most roads are bumpy, potholed and become impassable when it rains.

Most of the roads have broken culverts and bridges, making it difficult for motorists and pedestrians to use. The most affected is the 16km Kitiko-Lukale -Bengula road in Nairambi.
Mr Matia Nickson Ocheng, Nairambi chairperson, said the district leadership cares less about community access roads managed by sub-counties.

“We wonder why the road equipment is left to rot. My sub-county has 50kms of roads which are supposed to be managed by the district, but they are also impassable,” Mr Ocheng said. However, Mr Ronald Wanda, the district vice chairperson, denied the allegations, saying they are improving the road network.
“Those sub-county chairpersons are biased. Some roads are not worked upon, but they are in the plan and will be fixed before the end of this financial year,” he said.

Mr Wanda added that sometimes they lack of fuel and manpower, which delays some of the works.
In February, Mr Benjamin Kumumanya, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government, warned chief administrative officers (CAOs) against hiring private firms to carry out routine road maintenance services.

He said CAOs must ensure that their respective districts use the government equipment.
The district, which was carved out of Mukono in 2010, has 41km of feeder roads managed by Uganda National Roads Authority.

Equipment
In June 2017, President Museveni commissioned the road equipment worth more than Shs500 billion to be distributed to 121 districts.
Each district received a full unit of equipment consisting of a motor grader, a wheel loader, a vibro roller, a water bowser and two dump trucks. Each unit was valued at Shs2.7b.

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