Opposition demand for speedy Katonga Bridge works

Opposition lawmakers have asked that repairs on the collapsed Katonga Bridge in Mpigi District, be fast tracked. The bridge was destroyed following flash floods last week.
The bridge, is located on Kampala-Masaka Highway. About 200 metres of the road collapsed, leaving motorists and travellers stranded.
Led by the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament (LoP), Mr Mathias Mpuuga, the legislators during an oversight visit to the affected site yesterday referred to the incident as disastrous and hoped that it was a wake up call to the concerned authorities.

READ: Katonga Bridge repairs to take three weeks – Unra

“It is very unfortunate. The damage has gravely affected the rocky economy because it is a gateway to almost five neighbouring nations,” Mr Mpuuga said.
Adding: “Our prayer is that UNRA comes up with an arrangement to create a temporary bridge to at least transport persons with light merchandise and advise large trucks to use the Ngomba road. Otherwise the longer this takes, the more people are going to suffer because alternative routes were not prepared for these kinds of activities.” 
Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) at the  weekend stated that emergency restoration works had already started on the damaged part of the road on Twitter.
“With favourable weather conditions, the anticipated timeline for the completion of these emergency works is 2-3 weeks. We request for your patience during this time,”  the authority’s tweet read.

Motorists are currently using alternative routes including one flagged off by the Works and Transport Ministry from Kampala to Masaka via Lake Victoria. 
Mr Mpuuga said temporary arrangements could be made as the UNRA team prepares to refurbish and construct a new and better bridge.
“Also remarkable is that the old bridge could have probably been made with substandard technology. If you look at the bars of the broken bridge, clearly, there was a lot of compromising on what was done,” Mr Mpuuga told journalists.
Mr Yusuf Nsibambi, the Mawokota County South MP,  said  the incident  is “a very big embarrassment to the nation”.

“Otherwise related incidents will continue to happen,” Mr Nsibambi said.
The Mpigi District Vice Chairperson, Ms  Aisha Nakirijja, said the collapsed bridge has escalated several challenges including criminal activities with a section of people getting involved in theft as they desperately seek for means of survival. 
Ms Nakirijja also said the sick cannot seek better medical treatment  in other places.
Mr Mpuuga hoped to see correctional measures implemented to avert more incidents. 
He also hoped that the incident has taught a huge lesson to both UNRA engineers and environmentalists.
“The rich can find their way around this challenge but the poor people looking for survival are the biggest victims,” he said yesterday.