KCCA leaders question SFC city roadworks 

Special Forces Command (SFC) construction regiment has started maintenance works in Kampala Central Division, focusing on just the presidential route, a project of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA).

The SFC construction regiment, guarded by heavily armed soldiers, were seen carrying out works on roads near Kololo Independence Grounds.

But KCCA Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago expressed ignorance of where SFC is getting money to fund the projects since they are in the Authority’s jurisdiction. 

“That is a presidential route. There are people who mapped out the presidential route so that the President doesn’t hit potholes. But when you go down in the central business district, you will see potholes in all roads,” Mr Lukwago said yesterday.

President Museveni often travels to Kololo Independence Grounds where he meets bigger numbers of people since the Covid-19 pandemic and many of the roads in the area have been in bad shape. 

In June, President Museveni ordered the SFC to take over the maintenance of city roads. He said his son and senior advisor, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, had approached him to help in the construction of the city roads at a low cost.

In May, Gen Muhoozi toured some of the roads that were in bad shape in the city and promised to use the SFC units to improve them.

Mr Lukwago said what the city needs is a Marshall Plan to deal with road infrastructure challenges to benefit all city dwellers, not projects that target specific individuals’ desires.

“We don’t know what is committed to that work [which SFC is carrying out]. What vote are they getting the funds? From KCCA or SFC? We don’t know. That is why we are asking for a Marshall Plan to cover all the infrastructure projects in the city,” he said.

The Deputy Lord Mayor, Ms Doreen Nyanjura, said the same issue is to be discussed in tomorrow’s meeting where they are going to meet the executive authorities.

Efforts to get a comment from the spokesman of the SFC, Maj Jimmy Omara, were futile as our repeated calls to his known mobile phone contact went unanswered.

The KCCA spokesman, Mr Simon Kasyate, was unable to comment. He referred us to the deputy executive director, Mr David Luyimbazi, but our calls to him also went unanswered.

The plan

A Marshall Plan was an economic recovery programme led by a US military officer General George Marshall to get Western Europe countries out of economic and social difficulties after the World War II. The phrase, Marshall Plan, has since widely been used to refer to a mega programme to uplift a country or an areas from economic challenges.

KCCA has a road network of 2,100 kilometres.

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