SIRONKO – On April, 13th, 2024, the Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja was at Mafudu Primary school as chief guest to commemorate the belated women’s day in Sironko District.
In her address, she told the gathering that works on the 39Km Namagumba-Budadiri-Nalugugu would commence before June, 2024 having secured the services of Shandong Luqiao, a Chinese company to undertake the works.
The above response was a result of demands from local leaders to explain why government had failed to honour promise to upgrade the road.
The Prime Minister apologized for the delay on behalf of Government and the contractor saying the delays had been occasioned the compensation bill which was found to be higher than the projected cost of the road to bituminous standard.
She appealed to affected persons whose land was mapped as forming part of the road to relocate paving way for the contractor to commence its work without incident.
That statement alone meant that the government is very much alive to the fact that compensation has not been effected but nonetheless they are not shy to ask the residents to vacate the road reserve. Vacating would be a welcome idea for residents whose land was surveyed and found vacant but how about those whose buildings were ear marked for demolition, where do they expect them to go or secure the required money to purchase land and to construct?
With this unfinished business, I wonder how UNRA got the audacity to June, 5th, 2024 as a day for the ground breaking ceremony at Budadiri Town Council.
I heard that the President of Uganda will be the main ground breaker but on whose land? What is the logic in breaking the ground before preliminary steps including compensation are done? The sentiments on the ground are far detached from what UNRA and the contractor are planning.
We must be able to distinguish between individual rights over the mapped land and the rights of the community. The Residents along this road are not opposed to the road project but are not ready to take a gamble. The fact that the road has been a promise in progress for endless years creates even higher doubts. The road must not come at the expense of the affected residents.
Having been a victim of empty promises along Katosi road, I don’t think it is a wise idea for any of these residents to vacate before receiving their compensation in full. In a meeting held with the staff of the Uganda National Roads Authority on 11th January, 2024, The L.C V Chairman David Livingstone Giluli reported that he had received assurance from UNRA that compensation of affected persons would commence at the end of January.
It turned out to be hot air even after Sironko District allocated free land to the contractor at Mutufu and Buwalasi to erect a camp site and for storage of their materials. Fortunately, affected residents have refused to vacate as an earlier promise to pay the people along the Nalugugu-Budadiri 12Km stretch went unattended to. Where can one get the trust that this time the compensation will come through.
Let us not forget that the workers and machinery earlier delivered were removed without warning. Whether the promise to construct the road will materialize into anything, we want to remind the National Roads Authority that the Namagumba-Budadiri-Nalugugu road is in a bad shape as the marrum has been washed off by the current unpredictable rains pounding the area and has made transport of both good and passengers very expensive.
When dealing with Government, one has got to be very careful because one the road is constructed, the residents will have nowhere to demand for their compensation. I know some areas where government entered into agreements with residents whose land affected by a road network. However, a few days to the actual construction, they deposited partial payments for the developments on the land promising to pay for the land later. To date, those residents are still demanding for the balance in vain.
Those games are easy to play in the developed areas or areas with plenty of land but are not an option the people of Sironko District due to limited land. The idea of asking them to vacate before full compensation means buying land elsewhere and constructing alternative houses which money they don’t have. The majorities of these people are not financially stable and will not move before compensation.
According to Robinah Nabbanja, the European Union, the World Bank and Japan International cooperation have undertaken to fund the 5 year project estimated 129 billion for the construction of the entire 39Km road and to resettlement of affected persons. If I had the powers to ask, I would want to know why a 39Km Road will take a whole five years to be completed instead of one or two years. Such promises were made to the people who use Bulambuli- Karamoja road but to date; they are still suffering with dust.
The funders are positive that once the road is completed, it will improve transport access in the area, thereby linking the population with economic opportunities both in Sironko district and the neighboring areas. They are also firm that the road project will promote diversification of economic opportunities and facilitate a transition from subsistence farming to cash-cropping as well as entrepreneurship. They also believe the project will reduce the physical burden of transport on the community to widen the participation of women and youth in gainful employment.
Assuming the promise to construct the road will materialize into something, I wish to warn the contractor and the National Roads Authority that without proper bridges and a well planned drainage system to carry the large volumes of water, we are wasting time. If indeed there is no money, we would rather have a proper drainage than the tarmac itself. If these two are handled, then the problem will be half solved.
The author, David Mafabi is a veteran journalist and PML Daily senior writer
