The absence
of road maintenance equipment is to blame for the poor transport network in
Kitgum Municipality, the Mayor Walter Livingston Tooroma has revealed.
According
to Tooroma, they are unable to carry out periodic road maintenance and planned opening of roads in the peri-urban areas in Pandwong and Pager divisions due to
lack of equipment.
Tooroma says
despite securing permission to borrow road equipment from the district, the
municipality has failed to effectively utilize the road units due to
bureaucracies and additional costs involved.
In 2017, the
government donated road equipment including a grader, wheel loader, roller, a
water bowser and two dump trucks to all districts across the country to help
with road maintenance works.
Tooroma says
their effort to use the equipment from the district is bogged down because the
district works department has ongoing works.
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Tooroma is
now wants the local government ministry to consider distributing similar road
equipment to all urban authorities to cater for their road maintenance works.
Alexis
Abonga, the Engineer in charge of constructions at Kitgum municipality, says
the situation is compounded by inconsistent remittance of funds and the
dwindling funding from the central government for road maintenance.
Eng. Abonga
says this financial year government halted the release of road maintenance
funds leaving them without any option but to decentralize all road maintenance
activities to the division authorities.
During a
recent visit to Kitgum, the Local Government State Minister, Jennifer Namuyangu
pledged the government's commitment to secure additional support and donation
of road units from the Japanese government.
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The
engagement according to minister Namuyangu follows dire demand for road
equipment by the newly created urban administrative units including cities and
municipalities in the country.
