Hopes high as 150km Albertine region roads are commissioned

Government has resurfaced a total of 150km marram road network in Buliisa and Hoima districts at a cost of Shs6.5b under World Bank funded $145m(Shs528.9bp) Albertine Region Sustainable Development Project (ARSDP), raising hopes that it will boost the local economy.

There is optimism that the roads that have been worked on under the first phase of the ARSDP will boost roadside businesses and help farmers access markets for their products, which will result into increased household incomes and improved livelihoods.

The biggest share went to Hoima District, which got eight roads measuring close to 120Kms.  Buliisa got three roads measuring 31.3kms, which has increased the number of accessible feeder roads network to about 200km.

The three roads which have been worked on in Buliisa include the 10.7km Ndandamire-Bikongoro-Ngwedo road in Kigwera and Ngwedo sub-counties, the 10.8km Buliisa-Bugana road which links Buliisa Town Council and Buliisa Sub-county, and the 8.5km Biiso-Nyeramya-Waki road that runs from Biiso Town Council to Kihungya Sub-county.

Buliisa Woman Member of Parliament Norah Bigirwa  Nyendwoha said if people adopt a serious development agenda and put the roads to good use it will boost trade and attract investments.

“With all these good and smooth road, we need to embrace serious development agenda by ensuring we put in place infrastructures that will bring investors,” Ms  Nyendwoha said.

Mr Herbert Bagarukayo Kintaboine,  a firewood dealer from Kibambura Village in Ngwedo Sub-county, Buliisa District,  says the roads will lead to increased economic activities in the area.

“We can now freely and easily mover to the market without any hindrance. It used to be tough whenever it rained. The road would be flooded. I can move from here to Wanseko market and sell my produce.

We can prepare pancakes, fried fish or sugarcane and station it along the now busy road and sell to travellers to get some money,” Mr Kintaboine says.

Road design queried
However, sections of the populace especially in  Buliisa District, have raised issues with the size of the road.

Mr Bagarukayo Kintaboine, a resident,  told Sunday Monitor  on Friday that the road is too narrow to handle the increasing volumes of traffic. Pedestrians and cyclists, he said, have been hit hardest.

“We cannot bypass big heavy trucks using the road yet it has been raised. We do fall off whenever we try to give way to other motorists, especially the trucks,” Mr Kintaboine said.

The Buliisa District councillor for Persons with Disability (PwD), Mr Julius Manyireki, accused the contractors, Ms Greystone Construction Limited, of having marginalised PWDs during the construction phase.

“Many time people with disabilities are not offered jobs like drivers and traffic controllers along these roads, even though they have capacity to effectively handle,” Mr Manyireki said.

Mr Manyireki also said the road design is not user friendly for PWDs.
“We are getting challenges of accessing our homes as the contractor and consultant did not consider the issue of accessibility. PWDs fall off these new raised roads,” Mr Manyireki said.

Buliisa County Member of Parliament, Mr Stephen Birahwa Mukitale, appealed to the Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) to take over maintenance of the roads saying the district authority does not have the capacity to do so.

More markets
The district chairperson, Mr Simon Agaba Kinene,  revealed that  work on eight  markets are meant to be constructed in the district under the ARSDP programme is yet to commence.

“Buliisa is supposed to get nine markets under ARSDP project, but only one market is currently under construction.” 

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