Citizens mount pressure on KCCA over bad roads
Potholes on 7th Street in Industrial Area, Kampala, on April 12, 2023. PHOTO/ISAAC KASAMANI
What you need to know:
- They want the authorities to act now or brace for weeks of protests in the city.
Concerned citizens have launched a social media campaign highlighting the sorry state of most Kampala roads, which they said are responsible for the unceasing traffic.
The citizens, who are mobilising others on social media through a campaign dubbed; “Kampala Pothole Exhibition”, have asked Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to fix the potholes with immediate effect.
The campaign is meant to expose different ditches and furrows that have eaten up many road sections in the city and to compel the concerned leaders to act, according to Dr Spire Ssentongo, the team leader.
“It’s a protest because a lot has been said on fixing potholes in Kampala, many promises have been made and in some places year in and out, nothing has been done,” Mr Ssentongo said.
Motorists on a road on 8th Street in Industrial Area, Kampala on April 17, 2023.
Dr Ssentongo said many motorists are incurring operational costs in repairing and maintaining cars because of the huge potholes.
“Many people keep repairing their cars’ shock absorbers and broken bumpers yet they are paying taxes in the central business district where so much revenue comes from, but the city is abandoned,” he said.
The campaign, which started yesterday will run for one week.
Dr Ssentongo said after one week, they will resort to holding physical protests on different streets until the authorities fix the problem.
He, however, said: “It’s illegal now in Uganda to protest on anything except if you belong to the ruling party and if you are singing praises to them.”
Road users dodge potholes on a road on 8th Street in Industrial Area, Kampala on April 17, 2023.
Some of the bad roads include Seventh Street in Industrial Area, Mulago Roundabout, Namuwongo Road, Bukoto- Kyebando, Kitezi and Salaama.
Recently, the government secured $288m (Shs1 trillion) from the African Development Bank to finance the reconstruction of 70km of city roads.
Currently, Kampala has a road network of 2,100km. Of these, 642km is paved with a drainage system of 145km of major drains and 3,428km of minor drains.
But KCCA says only 714km (20 percent) are constructed open drains.
Last week, the Executive Director of KCCA, Ms Dorothy Kisaka, said:“The chapter of potholed roads characterising Salaama Road and Industrial Area is beginning to close. The reconstruction works are on course.”
ICYMI:
Motorists and boda boda riders maneuver through a pot-holed section of a road on 8th Street in Industrial Area, Kampala on April 17, 2023
She said KCCA was finalising the construction of 70km access roads under the KCCA Kampala City Roads Rehabilitation Project.
Counting the cost
Due to the poor state of roads, the Kampala Capital City Authority estimates that;
• about $800m(Shs2.9 trillion) is lost annually in vehicle maintenance
• close to $1.5m (Shs5.5b) a day is lost in travel time and traffic delays
• another $100m (Shs370b) to $200m (Shs741b) is lost by businesses and damage to property each year.
