Government begins emergency works on flood-prone Kerere - Kanungu road

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Mr Musasizi urged political actors not to exploit the situation for personal or political gain but to instead contribute constructively.

The government has commenced emergency rehabilitation works on a flood-prone section of the 47-kilometre Kerere-Kanungu road in Hamurwa Sub-county, Rubanda East Constituency, Rubanda District, bringing long-awaited relief to residents and easing the transportation of goods and services.

The affected section had become nearly impassable due to persistent flooding, severely disrupting livelihoods, trade, and mobility.

While inspecting the works on Monday, June 23, the Minister of Finance (General Duties), Mr Henry Musasizi, acknowledged that repeated attempts to repair the road had been undone by heavy runoff from the surrounding hills during every rainy season.

“Although government has tried to rehabilitate this road before, runoff from the hills continues to wash away improvements after every rainy season,” Minister Musasizi said.

Speaking during his village-to-village mobilization tour in Shebeya Parish, the minister, who also serves as the area MP, explained that the flooding problem had persisted for years.

“This issue is not new. Where we are standing is a floating bridge. They say this is actually an arm of Lake Bunyonyi. At one point, even eucalyptus trees planted here sunk in. Government has since made efforts to fix it, especially during the rainy seasons,” he said.

Musasizi apologized to residents for the delays in finding a permanent fix, citing persistent rainfall and structural changes in government, particularly the reintegration of the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) into the Ministry of Works and Transport.

“This is an emergency intervention. We regret the delays, first, the rains were still heavy, and second, the reorganization within UNRA affected staff and delayed implementation,” he noted.

In the short term, the government has begun installing stronger culverts and opening drainage channels to manage runoff and restore access.

“I’m happy that work is underway. We're installing durable culverts and opening drainage channels to help with water flow. This is part of our short-term response,” he added.

Mr Musasizi revealed that the government’s long-term plan includes tarmacking the road all the way to Kanungu District and constructing a permanent bridge to resolve the flooding issue.

“Our plan is to tarmac the road up to Kanungu. That will include building a permanent bridge as part of the design, a lasting solution to these challenges,” he said. “In the next financial year, we also plan to open an alternative route nearby to ensure continuous movement of people and goods.”