SOROTI– There was a lot of excitement among members of the public in 2016, when the 10th Parliament under the stewardship of the former speaker Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, now the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Community Affairs, approved the creation of more 23 districts.
The district included, Kagadi, Kakumiro, Omoro, Rubanda. Namisindwa, Pakwach, Butebo, Rukiga, Kyotera and Bunyangabu.
Others are Nabilatuk, Bugweri, Kasanda, Kwania, Kapelebyong, Kikuube, Obongi, Kazo, Rwampara, Kitagwenda, Madi Okollo, Karenga and Kalaki.
They became operational in the financial year, 2016/2017, 2017/2018, 2018/2019 respectively, bringing the total number of districts in Uganda now to 135.
Parliament approved the creation of these districts with the aim of bringing services closer to the locals hence effective and equitable service delivery.
Though people have gotten job opportunities from various public offices in respective districts, the road network remains a nightmare due to lack of road equipment.
The equipment includes, among others graders, wheel loaders, rollers, tractors and tipper lorries.
Among the most affected are districts which became operational four years ago.
Francis Akorikin, the LCV Chairperson Kapelebyong district said, since Kapelebyong district became operational in 2017, they don’t have road equipment up to date.
He explained that lack of road equipment has left the road infrastructure not only in Kapelebyong district but across the newly created 15 districts in dire straits.
These districts are suffering and this has affected service delivery to residents and also affected the effective utilization of the road fund to the districts,” Akorikin said.
Samuel Okello, the LCV Chairperson Kalaki district, which became operational on of July 1, 2019, revealed that they are unable to carry out periodic road maintenance and planned opening of roads due to lack of equipment.
He said that their efforts to borrow road equipment from Kaberamaido district are bogged down because the district works department has ongoing works.
Okello now wants the government through the ministry of works and transport to consider distributing road equipment to all the newly created districts to cater for their road maintenance works.
The LCV Chairperson Nabilatuk Paul Lokol, told the Cooperator that the situation is compounded by inconsistent remittance of funds and the dwindling funding from the central government for road maintenance.
“It’s the mandate of the government to distribute road equipment to all districts across the country for road maintenance, and failure for some districts to have this equipment indicates negation of service delivery,” stated Lokol.
In response, the state minister for works and transport, Francis Musa Ecweru who also doubles as the Member of Parliament for Amuria county blamed the failure of the government to distribute road equipment to the affected districts on financial constraints.
He said that in the Shs45 trillion budget for the 2020/2021 financial year, the 10th Parliament appropriated Shs47 billion for the procurement of road equipment for the 15 districts.
“The ministry of works and transport also signed a contract with one of the Japanese companies to supply road equipment, but the ministry of finance has up to date not released the money for that purpose”, Ecweru added.
However, he assured the leadership of the affected districts of the ministry’s commitment to acquire for them road equipment to ease road repairs and cut down on hiring costs.
Ecweru said after rehabilitation, most roads in the country will have permanent axle load checks to restrict trucks that can prove a danger to the roads. Any vehicle found with a heavy load will be stopped until the load is made to fit the axle load.
He added that the plan to acquire better permanent axle load-checking machines, like the one at Lukaya, will work in harmony with the East Africa axle load control.
Meanwhile, Benson Ekwe, the executive director Public Affairs Center (PAC) Uganda warns government against the creation of more administrative units saying that widened the funding gaps of lower local governments and the government is currently looking for money to fund the recently created districts and cities.
He urged the local leaders, politicians and public to instead focus on the creation of economic zones in the already existing districts to boost local revenue collections.
“Creating more constituencies not only affects the county but also the beneficiaries because when the budget is big, it becomes hard for the government to fund it,” he said.
Government is currently looking for money to fund the more than 720 sub-counties, which were recently created and besides, we are just from the election. There is no money to fund more administrative units,”
According to the minister of local government Raphael Magezi, Uganda has 364 sub-counties, 352 town councils, and 10 cities, which he said are waiting for funding from the Ministry of Finance for their operationalisation.
He said that most of the newly created administrative structures have had elections for their representatives, both in Parliament and the lower local levels.
The minister revealed that for the lower local levels, most of them are yet to construct their town council or sub-county headquarters.
https://thecooperator.news/leaders-demand-for-fast-rehabilitation-of-roads/
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