The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Bulambuli, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Residents and traders using Buyaga-Buluganya road in Bulambuli district rose up in protest on Tuesday over the sorry state of the road.
They planted banana suckers on the road to express their dissatisfaction with the state of affairs. The road is unmotorable because of the heavy rains, which have been pounding the district for the past few days.
The 12 kilometer road, which stretches from Buyaga town council in Buluganya Sub County, is full of potholes and ditches. Residents also claimed that the road is very narrow and affects the transportation of their produce to the market.
They demanded the intervention of Uganda National Roads Authority-UNRA to address transport problems in the area. Peter Gusolo, a businessman said they spend 2days transporting merchandise from Mbale town to Bulambuli district.
“It’s as if there is a deliberate delay to construct this road. Tractors came here and unearthed the roadsides, but no work is going on for close to four years,” he said.
James Wayo, a Boba boda rider said they charge their passengers Shillings 10,000 from Buyaga to Buluganya instead of Shillings 3, 000 they used to charge because they spend a lot of money on fuel due to the poor state of the road.
Simon Magomu, a resident of Buyaga town council put the blame on their leaders for allegedly failing to lobby government to construct the road.
He says the poor state of the road has made many farmers to make count loses since they can’t transport their produce to markets.
Fisto Woniala, the Buluganya Sub County LC III Chairperson, says expectant women face huge challenge whenever they are referred to facilities outside the district.
Woniala says the road also used to connect tourists to Mt Elgon Park via Bumasobo and Sisiyi falls but this is no longer the case.
The Bulambuli Woman Member of Parliament, Sarah Wekomba, has asked residents to stay calm, saying Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) has already committed to reconstruct the road.
“We don’t support the idea of planting crops in the road. If UNRA delays the reconstruction, we shall all stand up and storm their offices and demand for an explanation because the road is in bad shape as we speak,” Wekomba said.
George Sonko, the Mbale UNRA Station Manager, says they have asked the local leader leaders to identify a contractor and process a performance guarantee so that works starts soon.
“We are most likely to start work around late September 2019 but sometimes people want to use other opportunities like protests,” he said.
Sonko has appealed to the people of Bulambuli to calm down as they engage the local leaders.
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