Road equipment in 14 districts should be followed up on for efficient use

Op-Ed: Following the government’s procurement of road equipment for 14 districts that cost the taxpayer sh34.6 billion, there is a need to ensure accountability for the deployment of this vital machinery.

For this machinery to be put to good use and to avoid cases of district leaders misusing it for their personal benefit at the expense of the communities and local residents, who are the ideal beneficiaries, the citizens of these various districts need to hold their leaders accountable.

Last week, the Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja, handed over road equipment to a total of fourteen (14) districts. This was to enable them to maintain community access roads within their localities.

Media reports indicate that an additional Sh30 billion is still required to buy more equipment.

Despite the government’s continued efforts to provide road infrastructure, a lot still remains to be desired, with a sizeable portion of Uganda’s road network still in a poor state. Those in power still need to do more to improve this situation.

Nabbanja acknowledges that only 69% of the district roads and 50% of the urban roads are in fair to good condition, with some areas not covered by any form of connectivity; this is even worse for newly-created districts.

The sh34.6 billion provided by the government, through the Ministry of Works and Transport, was used to procure a wheel loader motor grader, which was allocated to each beneficiary district.

I am happy that most of the beneficiary districts are those that are truly in need of this machinery. That is a thumbs up to this government for heeding the call of these road users in the following districts: Kapelabyong, Kitagwenda, Bugweri, Madi-Okollo, Nabilatuk, Obongi, Terego, Kassanda, and Kazo.

Others include Obongi, Kwania, Rwampara, and Kalenga, plus Kikuube districts.

My concern is that in the past, we have had public equipment such as this not fully utilized due to the selfish interests of those who are in charge of deploying it for work.

Other times, such government property ends up being diverted and used for private work.

Other self-seeking district leaders also have a tendency to use adulterated fuel, which can severely damage such costly equipment.

As civil society, we call upon these leaders to think twice before engaging in such shady activity because, apart from its immoral implications, it is akin to robbing your own country and community.

Many a time, the road equipment is parked for months due to a lack of fuel; this too becomes a disservice to the taxpayers who continue to endure bad roads and nasty accidents as a result of potholed, narrow roads, which are now synonymous with Uganda, yet there is an available option to address this.

I hereby appeal to these leaders to have a sense of patriotism and put this machinery to good use for the benefit of the entire community.

That is how we shall collectively progress at a district, regional, and national level.

I applaud the prime minister and Minister of Works, Gen. Katumba Wamala, for this positive contribution, which is a great step in the development of our nation.

But we also task them with following up on how these are going to be used efficiently.

This will enable us to maintain our growing national road network, which, according to Nabbanja, stands at 159,364 km, of which 138,142 km, representing 86.9%, are located within the district urban and community access road (DUCAR) network.

This is in line with President Yoweri Museveni’s 2014 decision in June that year to re-equip all districts with more robust equipment.

The author is Rhyman Alphred Agaba, a journalist and advocacy officer at Citizens’ Concern Africa, a not-for-profit organization championing human rights and environmental protection.

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