Is state of Kampala city roads a reflection of KCCA’s technical and political leadership?

COMMENT | Samson Tinka | On 26th Nov 2020 at 08:08hours, I sent an email to Eng. Samuel Sserunkuma of KCCA complaining of the unmotorable road between Entebbe road at Kenjoy supermarket, through the valley crossing Salama road via Calendar Pub up to current Makindye traffic lights. Those days my children were schooling in Kibuli and that was the road that I used twice a day.

The potholes were so deep, tarmac was off over half of the road. A day before I had lost a tyre in  one of the potholes.

Eng. Sserunkuma immediately responded to my email and confirmed that that stretch was going to be worked on together with Salama road. He even shared with me the approved funding from World Bank for that road and the amount involved. I was satisfied with his response.

Three years down the road, the same place is as it was. Infact it is misuse of words if we call that stretch a road. It’s so ugly, the potholes are like Ekihandagazi -( a path that takes cows to water point).

The same road has been in the same state from 2018 when I started staying along Entebbe road. On my previous email to Eng Sserunkuma , I mentioned the advantages of having this road in a better shape

On this same road, especially in the valley, the drainage system collapsed, so everytime it rains, water stagnates. Every single year at least twice, new tarmac would be placed on this point without working on the drainage. The same tarmac is eaten up at the next rain season.

Sadly, this is now the current situation right across the city.

Kampala a city of potholes.

 Whichever road, street, division, parish, cell you choose to drive to, you will be welcomed by abnormal potholes. Some potholes are historical like one near Total gas station Katwe, Total head office on Namuwongo road, Mukwano parking yard entrance gate, Sir Apolo Kagwa road, Ntinda National council offices valley, Kiswa in bugolobi etc. At least everyday a new pothole or ditch is created on the road.

Before Christmas last year, I was dropping my children for their weekend football practice in Muyenga, on the road behind USA Embassy in Nsambya, I found KCCA team filling potholes with marram.  In 2022, a city with highly qualified technical teams and political leadership of learned people to approve a work plan of filling potholes with marram? Two rains, the potholes were even bigger than before. The washed away marram soils clog the already narrow silted trenches and next drop of water will flood every Kampala point.

KCCA council of fights and threats.

Instead of a focus on key issues, we continue to witness a council of trading insults, fights, threats and unhealthy debates. These political leaders conduct is questionable as it appears that the one who shouts most wins the day. In the recent past, one of the councilors entered the city hall chambers with a harmer, others attempted to arrest contractors , the war of words between technical teams and politicians make half of the seatings.  We expect to see battle of brains and ideas not fists and kicks.

 KCCA Budget shortfalls cries 

As per KCCA 5 year strategic plan, it requires close to sh1.5trillion every financial year but currently receives close 500bn ugx. This fronted as the reason why KCCA performance is lukewarm. No government agency or ministry receives funds as per required budget, they all struggle but often tangible achievements are always on record. I have been in Kampala for the last 24 years, it has never looked as bad as it is now. Salama road has been in very bad state since 2017. What is the justification for this? Resources will always be scarce, its upon the leaders in offices to prioritize.

Rising cost of doing business due to bad roads.

Movement of people, goods and service is paramount and should be enabled. In Kamapla, its only road transport that is used as it does not have railway and water transport. The cost that Mukwano Industries incur to transport its goods and the cost of repairing its fleet is arbnormal. Potholes slow down traffic movement, this increases cost of production hence higher prices of finished goods.

Government workers as well as private employees lose time to and from work. Its estimated that  a person that stays in Kira spends an average of 6 hours on the road to city centre and back in peak hours. Leaves home at 6am, arrives work at 9am and leaves work at 5pm and reaches home at 9pm. The slower the trffic, the hgher the fuel consumption especially for vehicles of 2.0CC and above. So basically bad roads affects everyone apart from those few dignitaries that have lead cars and will always throw us off the narrow roads into trenches

Has NUP failed to deliver the Promised Land?

NUP won 41 out of 44 seats that compose KCCA council. The remaining three are also opposition councilors, this makes NUP policies and desires in the council decisions to go unchallenged and without any fight. If NUP had, an opportunity to show Ugandans of their abilities to lead this country, it is through managing KCCA politics. It’s coming to two years since they took oath of leadership at the council hall, but there is no tangible result so far that Kampalans can point at. If therefore, these NUP political leaders have failed to deliver in Kampala, why should Ugandans handover the country to them. I bet that in the next general elections, NUP will be a shadow of itself in both Kampala and the country at large. If this was mock exams, their performance was so poor that we don’t expect any better results in final exams.

Whereas KCCA officials have given several excuses,  let them know apologies are not good enough. Kampala people didn’t vote for apologists, neither do they support for technical teams giving excuses of why they cant deliver. The scapegoat has been low budget given to KCCA but this excuse is out fashioned and unconvincing. The city is very ugly, its not enabling business development. Government wants more taxes from its urban population, how will this need be reconciled?

ED Dr. Dorothy  Kisaka and your team, Lord Mayor and your councilors, Ministers of Kampala, this is the worst Kampala we have witnessed in the last two or so decades. Pitch camp in statehouse, parliament and ministry of finance, get money and improve Kampala roads or else exit the corridors of KCCA and let the other teams take the mantle. As it is now, your scorecards are below average.