1000 open manholes in Kampala

Jan 27, 2014

ACCORDING to the KCCA, they are over 1,000 open manholes in the city which are currently becoming a big threat to the public

By Mary Karugaba and Juliet Waiswa

NEXT time you walk along Kampala City streets, beware of the open manholes that are on almost every street.

According to the Kampala City Capital City Authority (KCCA), they are over 1,000 open manholes in the city which are currently becoming a big threat to the public.

Jennifer Musisi, the Authority’s Executive Director told MPs on Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that almost all manhole covers in the city have been stolen mainly by scrap dealers who melt and use them for their own purpose.

“We have tried to replace all the manhole covers in the city but they are stolen. We realized that it is becoming costly for KCCA so we have a contractor who is going to supply us with no value for manhole covers,” she said.

Responding to queries raised by members, Musisi told the meeting that the Authority open holes remains a big challenge that KCCA has tried to resolve but the problem keeps coming back.

Citing the example of Kafumbe Mukasa road, the MPs demanded for explanation as to why works on city roads have delayed despite a huge budget allocated to roads.

The director of engineer and technical services Andrew Kitaka, he told Kitaka to explain that some of the works were inherited from ministry of Works.

“Works on Kafumbe Mukasa road were first done by Ministry of Works. When KCCA took over the works, the contractor had to first work on the sewer line which used to cause flooding. Secondly, we had challenges of business along the road,” he said.

“This is a business area which is near two markets. The first contractor (DOT services) had to first work on the sewer line and now it is complete, works on the road is being done by Sterling and by the end of March the road will be ready,” Kitaka added.

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