Masaka-Mutukula Road contractors given 90-day ultimatum to start tarmacking

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Works and transport minister Fred Byamukama has issued a 90-day ultimatum to contractors working on the Masaka-Kyotera-Mutukula road to begin tarmacking works or face contract termination and arrest.

During an inspection of the 86km Masaka-Kyotera-Mutukula road project, Byamukama revealed that the government signed a sh629b, four-year contract with Chongqing International Construction Corporation (CICO), a Chinese contractor, but after two years of work, physical progress stood at only 23%.

“If you signed a four-year contract and in a period of two years, your physical progress stands at 23%, this simply means that you have done nothing and you have just been wasting time and plotting how to rob the government,” Byamukama said.

The minister said the contractors' contracts should be terminated if they fail to improve their performance.

“I am issuing a 90-day ultimatum to the contractors to start on the tarmacking of the road. Failure to do that, their contracts will be terminated,” Byamukama said, adding that all engineers who were involved in corruption scandals surrounding the Masaka-Kyotera-Mutukula road had been sacked by the President.

“You saw that President Museveni sacked Ronald Olaki, the project manager of this road. He was conniving with the contractors and showing them tricks on how they could steal money from the government,” Byamukama said.

The minister noted that according to the road design, the Masaka-Kyotera-Mutukula road is expected to last 20 years, giving a bonus of more than nine years since it is being rehabilitated after 10 years.

“Some of the engineers that were sacked were conniving with these Chinese contractors and wanted to rob the government. This high level of corruption will not be tolerated,” Byamukama said, adding that the government will soon start arresting contractors found to be corrupt.

“There is no law that stops us from imprisoning the contractors,” he added.

Byamukama said the contractors had rejected road designs provided by the government, arguing that the pavement thickness was too weak. He added that oil roads in Bunyoro used for transporting heavy equipment have pavement thicknesses of 60% and 65%.

Haruna Kasolo, the foreign affairs state minister who doubles as Kyotera County MP, noted that his role as a state minister for foreign affairs is to promote economics, trade and diplomacy. He added that completion of the Masaka-Kyotera-Mutukula road would give Uganda easier access to markets for its products.

“Because of the slow pace of the contractors, Uganda’s trade has greatly been affected. The contractors need to beef up their efforts on the road works,” Kasolo said.

During the inspection, Byamukama was accompanied by Florence Namayanja, the Masaka City mayor, Ismail Lubega Kaka, MP for Kakuuto County, Fortunate Nantongo, Woman MP for Kyotera, among other leaders.