Upcountry festive trips to be bumpy 

Dashing home for the holidays this Christmas Eve? Brace yourself for abjectly poor transport infrastructure in the countryside. The unusual December rains have made a bad situation worse.
“We pray it doesn’t rain on Christmas Day,”  Mr Joseph Gidudu, and elder and resident of Namatala ward in Mbale City, told Saturday Monitor, adding: “If it rains, people will be disappointed with the poor state of our roads.”
Bugisu Sub-region is not an outlier. The eight hours it takes to travel from Kampala to Arua via Karuma is as punishing as it gets. 

The roads are bumpy and punctuated with potholes. The cloud of dust that speeding vehicles kick up also makes accidents highly probable.
While the Kampala-Karuma-Arua highway straddles 495km, the alternative Kampala-Kafu-Masindi-Paraa-Pakwach route shears off 45km. The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) will require each passenger to pay Shs20,000 to ply the route while a vehicle is charged Shs110,000. 
The Kampala-Gulu highway spans 335km. While forecasters have predicted dry conditions, the cloud of dust that one of the roads kicked up saw Mr Gilbert Olanya, the Kilak South lawmaker, involved in a freak accident last weekend. On average, six people have died in road crashes between Gulu and Kamdini corner between November and December alone.

Between Kamdini (Oyam) and Elegu Border Town (Amuru), hundreds of cargo trucks ply the route between Uganda and South Sudan. 
Beyond Gulu City along the 109km Gulu-Nimule highway, there are more dark spots, especially at Awee, Paboo, and Atiak town boards. Other dark spots have been marked at Bobi, Koro, Minakulu, and Amwa on the 65km stretch. 
Fares from Kampala to Gulu (formerly Shs30,000), Kitgum (Shs35,000), Pader (45,000) and Amuru (50,000) have significantly increased to Shs45,000, Shs45,000, Shs55,000 and Shs60,000, respectively with the onset of the festive period.

Stranded traders
Wet conditions in Bugisu Sub-region will render the road heading to Bududa District impassable. Elsewhere, the bridges in Namisindwa District are in a sorry state, hampering movement. Saturday Monitor understands that some traders have been stranded with their merchandise, the vast bulk of which are perishables.
Mr Peter Musungu, a resident of Buwagogo Sub-county in Manafwa District, said the unusually wet conditions have made roads in the sub-region impassable. The bridges in Manafwa are also coming apart, with Mr Anthony Khaukha, the district’s road engineer, admitting that financial bottlenecks haven’t helped matters. He also revealed that some of the infrastructure, such as Mwikaye Bridge, was “poorly constructed.”

Wet conditions in the west also mean that hazardous trips await those heading to the countryside for the festive period. In Kyegegwa District, due to heavy rain in months of November and December, most roads are now impassable. This has made it terribly difficult for most travellers, especially those travelling by car,  to access different destinations.
Three weeks ago, the Nyakabiiso bridge, on Kakaabara-Nabingoola road, was swept away by floods. Ten bridges in Bundibugyo District have been swept away since the heavens started letting loose in May. As many as 30 road networks are in a sorry state.

Some of the roads and bridges that were washed away include; Hakitara-Busuba (5.5kms), Bundikuyali-Hakitara  (3.6km), Hakitara-Kanyate (2.5km), Bundiwerume-Mbango-Humya (4km), Tokwe-Hakitara-Bundimwendi (6km), Kinyakende-Ntome (4km), Busaru-Bunyakakindo (3km), and Harugale-Buhundu (3km). 
In Ntoroko District, those intending to spend the festive period in Kanara and Kanara town councils have to brace themselves for punishing conditions. The two town councils have for three years been inundated and can only be accessed via boats.