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Jinja to spend Shs300m on fixing streetlights
Some of the Jinja City solar streetlights installed on Main Street under the Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development (USMID) project, that have been nonfunctional for four years, are seen on September 4, 2024. PHOTO/DENIS EDEMA
What you need to know:
- Stakeholders have asked Jinja City Council to have a sustainability plan for maintaining streetlights.
Jinja City Council has secured Shs300 million to fix solar lights on major streets, which had become prone to insecurity especially at night.
Some of the streets include Nalufenya-Abercourt, Rippon Garden, Bell Avenue, Naranbhai, and Bax, among others.
Jinja City spokesperson Rajab Kitto said council has endured financial challenges to fix the streetlights. Funds have since been secured from local revenue collection for that cause.
“There was no money allocated for maintenance of streetlights installed on roads under the Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development (USMID) projects. This financial year, however, council has budgeted for Shs300 million from local revenue,” Kitto explained on Wednesday.
According to him the money will among other things replace bulbs, batteries and poles that were knocked down by reckless drivers.
Some councilors who spoke to Monitor said they preferred streetlights powered by hydroelectricity, saying “solar-powered lighting systems aren’t long lasting.”
The councilors spoke in reference to some solar street lights installed on Main Street four years ago but no longer work.
Gabula Road LC1 Chairman Robert Tenywa, said nights are every pedestrian’s nightmare. “Thieves armed with stones waylay people in the dark and rob them, especially around Kakindu playground,” he observed.
Tenywa’s Main Street West counterpart Badru Nabugo, urged Jinja City Council authorities to install long-lasting streetlights on all major roads since some places are no-go areas as early as 7pm.
Dan Busibu, a boda boda rider on Rippon Stage, said he no longer transport clients to “dark places” for fear of losing his motorcycle.
Kiira Region Police Spokesperson James Mubi also noted that security forces had been facing challenges regarding the darkness on the major streets of Jinja City, which they have, on several occasions, reportedly informed relevant authorities about.
“If Jinja City Council has the money, it should fix the streetlights in those crime-prone areas that we have pointed out,” Mubi remarked.
He added that they have informed City authorities to trim overlapping branches of trees obstructing Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras on some streets, but they have not heeded.
Mubi encouraged Jinja City Council to have a sustainability plan for maintaining streetlights such that if a pole or bulb gets damaged, it can immediately be replaced.
