Thanks for this article on the Uganda roads. Whereas there is a lot of work on the roads Entebbe to Kampala and around Kampala, all this seems to b for the appeasing to the gods of the coming meeting of Commonwealth Heads of States. And then after the meeting, then what? And what of the other roads leading upcountry? There is a lot of politicking for votes especially when it comes to elections time and thats when there seems to be some working on the roads upcountry --- I guess its done so that the wanainci-bataka=peasants can give majority votes to the one claiming to be working on the roads.
But as far as I know there has not been much work on tarmacing a dusty road like the Kigumba - Masindi - Hoima - Kagadi - Kyenjojo road. Every regime that has come to power since Independence, has always said this road is their priority and the road will be graded from a dust- murram road to a tarmac road. And I remember both Besige and Museveni visiting Masindi, Hoima, Kibaale and Kyenjojo Districts in their campains for election and thois road thsing of dusty road becoming a tarmac road became a hot issuei n their campains. Well, now that the 2006 electiuons are over I wonder what has been or is being or will be done to improve the road?
And then it was the Busunju - Kiboga - Hoima road issue: when will the construction of that road be finished ? parts of that road are dust-murram and others are tarmac. The other day when some pipo from Bunyoro planned on demonstrating tired of the Kiboga dusty road, they were going to Kampala on foot from Hoima to tell the rest of the world that the Administration has neglected their road to Hoima, they were told that its not good to demonstrate --- thank God they were not met with TIYA GASI ! Its a shame that almost all roads leading to Bunyoro are dusty , no tarmac, as if it was plan of the British to leave the area behind and underdeveloped due to Bunyoro's and Kabalega's stiff resistance to the British Colonial rule.And now some 45 years after the British are gone and we have attained independence,only a few miles of tarmac roads are in Bunyoro. One wonders what the post colonial era regimes have in mind for the development of this area? Any way I hear OIL has been found ! Is it the MKOMBOZI the LIBERATOR for Uganda's poverty and underdevelopment problems?
But now the story is different as OIL HAS BEEN FOUND IN BUNYORO ALONG LAKE ALBERT. Now there is talk of speeding up the work on Kiboga road, and perhaps working on Hoima - Buseruka Road becoming a tarmac road thus removing the dust as well. But this is politics and politics will be politics until politics is politics!!
In the meant time the gavt is being asked to put in more funds in the improvement of the roads --- if the money and petrol and diesel for these road constructions is not syphoned to other places -- as you know its CORRUPTION!! yes CORRUPTION has visited many sectors of the Ugandan Society