Kanungu– Residents of Kanungu district in Kigezi sub-region south western Uganda have raised concern over the poor state of community access roads which they said have affected their daily earnings.
The residents also attributed the sorry state of the roads to the government’s decision to merge the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) into the Ministry of Works and Transport, a move they said has led to inconsistencies in road maintenance and service delivery.
Residents reported that some sections of the road lack culverts, especially in hilly and swampy spots, a thing that worsens the situation during rainy seasons.
Some of the roads in poor condition are Hamurwa, Rugyeyo- Kambuga road, Kanungu- Nyamirama, Katete -Kihihi, Kanungu–Rugyeyo–Kabaranga among others.
Mr Martin Byarugaba, a tea farmer and resident of Rugyeyo sub- County said most of the community roads are in appalling condition, which affects the transportation of agricultural produce to markets.
‘’The food trucks are forced to load half their capacity so that they can maneuver through the rough roads’’. Mr Byarugaba said.
Mr Byarugaba added that ‘’ the state of the road has been worsened by floods that cut through the roads creating deep gullies and potholes’’.
Ms Christine Kobusigye, a banana farmer and a resident of Kambuga town council said Kambuga – Kanungu town council road has become impassable because it was last rehabilitated 6 years ago.
‘’We are counting losses due to exorbitant transport costs because of the poor road network in the district’’. She said,
Mr James Muhwezi, a business man in Kanungu town says they are forced to increase the prices of their commodities to meet the high transport costs. Muhwezi blames the district authorities for neglecting their roles.
“The government should intervene before the situation worsens more. The roads are surely in poor condition and they need to be rehabilitated”. He said.
Mr Godfrey Mujuni, a boda boda cyclist says the piles of stones on the road spoil their motorcycle tyres during transportation of commodities and passengers forcing them to hike transport costs.
“Apparently we charge between Shs. 15000 to Shs .20000 to take a passenger within the district and outside district ( Rukungiri town ) we charge from Shs 25000-Shs 30000 from Shs. 10000- Shs. 15000 and Shs. 15000-Shs.20000 Previous cost respectively.” He said.
The Rugyeyo cell LC1 Chairperson Mr Jimmy Baheza, the LC1 chairperson said the poor state of roads in the area is worrying both to the community and business persons who depend on agriculture to earn a living.
“The situation is not good at all. Farmers are lacking access to market centers for the transportation of their agricultural produce because of the sorry state of community roads. Mr Baheza said.
The Nyakabungo Town Council Mayor Mr. Frugence Mugisha told our reporter that the poor road condition has caused great suffering among road users, affecting the transportation of goods and leading to frequent vehicle breakdowns.
‘’ Many other roads across our District are also in poor conditions and their poor state greatly disrupts the local transport network and economic activities’’. Mr Mugisha noted.
He also blamed the government for merging UNRA with the Ministry of Works and Transport, saying that during the UNRA era, major roads like Kanungu-Rugyeyo road were regularly maintained and properly fitted with drainage culverts.
‘’ The current inconsistency of the ministry of works and transport has greatly led to widespread deterioration of road infrastructure’’. Mr Mugisha added.
The Kanungu district speaker Mr Frank Byaruhanga urged the government to always consult local communities before making major policy decisions, emphasizing that people on the ground understand rural challenges better.
“The roads are in a very poor state, locals find a lot of hardships in trying to access market centers. The district should quickly intervene and work on some roads that link farmers to market centers “He said.
The Kanungu district roads engineer Mr Dennis Magezi, said the district did some grading but heavy rains that lasted for 3 weeks made the roads impassable adding that they are soon rehabilitating all community access roads in this financial year.
However, he acknowledges that some roads have not been rehabilitated because of limited resources.
“We are only affected by limited funds but we would have worked on all poor stated community access roads in the district. The money we receive from the central government (road fund) was also cut by 50%. So only call for Patience as we plan to work on their roads very soon he said.
Eng. Sam Kajojo, the district chairperson, said his administration has budgeted Shs102 million this financial year for the rehabilitation of all community access roads saying that some roads will be rehabilitated by the sub- counties using road funds.
“Very soon we shall start working on their roads. We are also overwhelmed by too much rain that is currently hitting the district on a daily basis. These rains destroy roads making them impassible” he said.
In response, Eng. Alison Abenawe, the former UNRA Manager for Kigezi Sub-region and now overseeing roads under the Ministry of Works and Transport, expressed regret over the poor state of the Kanungu–Rugyeyo–Kabaranga road.
‘’ The Ministry is aware of the problem but am assuring you ( residents ) that plans of rehabilitating roads within this financial quarter are underway’’. Eng Abenawe said.
Eng. Abenawe added that ‘’By December 2025, the roads will be fully rehabilitated’’.
