Kalangala leaders protest Shs1b road repair

A section of councilors in Kalangala District have protested a move by the technical staff to spend Shs1 billion on repairing Luuku-Bulabana-Kalangala Road  which connects  Kalangala’s mainland Buggala to Bugoma docking site.
The councilors led by Mr Ronald Jamba, who is representing Kalangala Town, argue  that the available Shs1 billion could be put aside until the district raises enough  funds to tarmac the  66km road rather than spending it on repairing the current gravel stretch.

“We had high hopes  of  seeing  our main road tarmacked by next year ,but the ongoing maintenance works  leaves little hope for that to happen,” Mr  Jamba said in an interview on Monday  
Mr Ronald Giribe, a councillor representing Mugoye Sub County at the district and doubles as secretary for works, said Kalangala being a key tourist destination deserves a tarmac road from Bugoma docking site.

“Luuku –Mulabana being Kalangala’s main road should be tarmacked because even when they make repairs, the road will become impassable in a very short time thus inconveniencing tourists who normally use the Masaka route to connect to the islands,” Mr Giribe said.
The maintenance works which kicked off a week ago are undertaken by Nation Enterprise Corporation (NEC) with supervision from Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra), Kalangala District Local Government and UPDF engineering department.

 According to Kalangala District engineer, Mr Baliremwa Mukajanga, to tarmac the 66km stretch would require the district to lobby for another Shs190.5 billion which money may not come soon since the central government is currently financially constrained.

 “Commencing works for tarmac requires a lot of money. Therefore, the maintenance works should be supported as we wait for the next financial year budget where we expect to get money for tarmacking the road,” he said.  
Mr Mukajanga said the district received only Shs4.9 billion for road works from the central government, part of which has been used to tarmac access roads of five kilometres within Kalangala Town Council.
“It is true we need a tarmac road connecting to the main docking site at Bugoma but the disbursed money wasn’t enough to do that. The technical team advised that part of it be spent on improving roads within the town,” he added.  

 In 2009, the government   signed an agreement with Kalangala Infrastructure Services Limited (KIS) to expand and upgrade a 66-kilometre road to a class B gravel. A total of Shs13.5 billion was budgeted for the project and actual construction works started in 2015 and completed in 2016. Motorists claim the road started developing potholes less than four years after it was constructed.
The worst part of the road is the 30 -kilometre-stretch between Bugoma and Bweya.