Residents decry poor state of Rukungiri- Kanungu Road
Part of Rukungiri Kanungu Road at Kinyasano stage. Residents of Rukungiri and Kanungu districts have decried the poor state of the road, which has continued to deteriorate due to heavy rains. PHOTO | RONALD KABANZA
What you need to know:
- Mr Umaru Mugisha, a boda boda rider in Kanungu, says they are disappointed with their leaders who promised to work on the road during campaign period but to date have not fulfiled their pledges.
Residents of Rukungiri and Kanungu districts have decried the poor state of Rukungiri-Kanungu Road which has continued to deteriorate due to heavy rains.
Mr Monday Kamugisha, a civil engineer in Rukungiri Town, says: “The leaders are aware but have failed to respond to our problems. Cyclists have increased transport fares. About two months back one would pay Shs20,000 from Rukungiri to Kanungu but nowadays we pay between Shs 35,000 and Shs40,000 due to the poor state of the road.”
Mr Simon Nuwagaba, a boda boda cyclist in Rukungiri Town, says the poor state of the road poses a risk to travellers.
“We may lose lives because of the poor state of this road. The road is full of potholes and stones. Just for a single ride from Rukungiri- Kanungu, one spends Shs20,000 in the garage and Shs25,000 is spent on fuel but formerly we used to spend Shs15,000 on fuel. This has forced us to hike transport fares from Shs20,000 to Shs40,000 not because of Christmas but poor state of the road,” Mr Nawagaba adds.
He appeals to Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) to immediately carry out maintenance works, saying the current state of the road is impeding transportation of goods and service delivery in the two districts.
Mr Boaz Agaba, another cyclist, says: “Transporting patients or any other commodity is a tug of war because of the road is very bad. We have informed our leaders but they have failed to respond to our problems.”
Mr Umaru Mugisha, a boda boda rider in Kanungu, says they are disappointed with their leaders who promised to work on the road during campaign period but to date have not fulfiled their pledges.
The Kigezi region Unra station manager, Mr Alison Abenado, says they are yet to get a contractor to rehabilitate the road.
“We are also overwhelmed by the workload. The region is too big and we are trying our level best to work on the roads. Due to heavy rains, roads are all in a sorry state,” Mr Abenado said.
