Construction of Nkoko Bridge on River Ssezibwa Starts

The Construction of a 1.42-kilometre bridge on River Ssezibwa in Kasawo Sub County, Mukono district has been launched.

The bridge that used to connect Ntunda and Kasawo sub-counties and as well as acting as a shortcut  joining Kayunga district to Mukono district was washed away by heavy rains in 2019, paralyzing transport between the districts.

According to EngineerWilliam Kabiiho, the Assistant Commissioner in charge of National Roads and Bridges in the Ministry of Works and Transport, reconstructing of the bridge will cost 2.139 billion Shillings.  

He says they awarded the work to Al-Mubarak Contractors Limited and that the work will be done within 12 months.

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The LCV Mukono district Chairperson, Rev Peter Bakaluba says they had to engage the government on the road as they could no longer manage its construction.

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Bakaluba also cautioned the contractors against delayed works and asked the ministry of works and transport to release funds so that the contractors can work within the given timeframe. 

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The Mukono Resident District Commissioner-RDC Fatuma Ndisaaba Nabitaka says that producing shoddy work is a bad way of spending taxpayers' money. She warned the area chairpersons against conniving with residents to steal the contractor’s fuel meant to do the work hence delaying the completion of the construction works.

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The works come as a relief to the residents who have been spending a lot of money on transportation and had also posed a risk to their lives.

Rose Naluwembe, a resident, says they have spent a lot of money on transport as they have go around passing via Kayunga to sell their goods.

“We have to take a longer route through Kayunga which costs more money and has left others counting losses because their produce got spoilt on the way to the market,” she says.

Rashid Mpiirito says that people suffered losses as a result of the collapse of the bridge. He believes that the reconstruction of the bridge will lead to development in the area.

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James Mulindwa, the mayor Kasawo town council says that they faced difficulties transporting their agricultural produce to the market because the transport boats are too small to accommodate them.

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Dan Nsiiro, the Nkoko village chairperson, also reveals that they have lost a number of people who had drowned while trying to cross the river since its collapse.

“We have lost people especially strangers in the area who ride motorcycles at night without knowing that the bridge was washed away,” he says.

 

In 2019, after the bridge being washed away and the delay by government and district officials to work on the road, the residents resorted to making a makeshift bridge and using small boats to cross the bridge to their different destinations.  However, this was only used by motorcyclists and pedestrians. Those with vehicles used Ntunda–Kyabazaala–Kayunga road to Mukono, which is a one and a half hour drive.

A fee of between 1,000 shillings to 2,000 shillings was being collected from the makeshift bridge users for maintenance and when the makeshift was also destroyed by the increasing water levels on the river, one would spend 2,000 shillings to cross on the small boat while motorcyclists and those with heavy luggage spent 5,000 shillings.