RUBANDA -Road users along the Kabale–Kisoro road have expressed concern over its poor state, particularly at Hakagyezi in Hamurwa Sub-county and Hamurwa Town Council, Rubanda District, saying the road is in a critical condition and requires urgent government intervention.
The residents and motorists say the poor state of the road is hindering the transportation of their agricultural produce to available markets and have called on the government to act as soon as possible.
According to Byamukama Martin, a taxi driver who operates on the Kabale–Kisoro route, the poor road conditions at Hakagyezi cause mechanical problems to their vehicles, making their work costly.
He also noted that when transporting sick people, it becomes unbearable to pass through such poor sections of the road.Kabeni Wycliffe, the Chairperson of Hakagyezi Trading Centre and Treasurer of Mutakyengwa Cell, said the road connects Uganda to neighboring countries and facilitates trade that brings in revenue.
He emphasized that the road is in a critical condition, which is hindering the transportation of goods, and therefore needs urgent rehabilitation.Ekyatuhaire Fortunate, a resident of Hakagyezi Centre, said the road is almost impassable.
She added that as local agriculturalists, they lose money due to poor transportation, and she appealed to the government to intervene and ease the movement of goods.
Baingana Arm, a resident of Kaburara and a boda boda rider, said that locals continue to face challenges because of unfulfilled promises made during campaign periods.
He urged the government to fulfill its pledges, work on the road, and improve its standards.
When contacted, Stanslas Tumwesigye Nyarare, the Hamurwa Sub-county Chairperson, and Teddy Tumwesigye Rugyereza, the Mayor of Hamurwa Town Council, said the road was initially being maintained by the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) before it was emerged to the Ministry of Works and Transport.
They noted that since then, nothing much has been done.They added that they used to apply marram on the road annually, but it has now been a long time since any maintenance was carried out.
They appealed to the government to intervene and repair the road to ease transportation in the area.
When contacted, Allan Ssempebwa, the communication officer of the Ministry of Works and Transport, said that UNRA, which used to work on such roads, was merged into the Ministry of Works and Transport.
He mentioned that their team in Kabale will be informed to inspect the road and assess how to address the problem.
