Moroto road tarmac still years away, minister Musasizi tells Omoro
Musasizi urged leaders to stop directing every challenge to President Yoweri Museveni, saying some issues can be addressed at the ministerial level. He said the poor condition of the Moroto Road was evident and that he had personally used it to reach the church function.
The Archbishop of the Gulu Archdiocese, Raphael P’Mony Wokorcah, urged the newly ordained priests to remain close to the people in the communities to which they are deployed. (Credit: Christopher Nyeko)
OMORO - Finance, planning and economic development minister Henry Musasizi has told residents of Omoro to lower their expectations of seeing the long-awaited Moroto Road tarmacked soon, saying the project is not scheduled to start until the 2028/29 financial year.
Musasizi said the road is included in the Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV), but its tarmacking is not part of the 2026/27 budget he prepared.
He said politicians have been raising residents’ hopes by telling them that the government is about to start tarmacking the road.
“The work is not expected to begin soon,” Musasizi told residents, explaining that the project has been planned for a later financial year.
The minister, however, promised to engage his counterpart in the works and transport ministry to ensure that the road is properly maintained as a first-class murram road until it is eventually upgraded.
Musasizi made the remarks on August 8, 2026, during a Christian gathering at Atede Catholic Parish in Omoro district, where he attended the ordination of three deacons into the priesthood and one seminarian as a deacon under the Congregation of Salesians of Don Bosco.
He had travelled to witness the ordination of his cousin, Rev. Fr Ronald Rurasingura of Hoima Diocese, who was ordained alongside Rev. Fr Morish Ohuru and Rev. Fr Rogers Berocan. Owen Norman was ordained a deacon.
Musasizi urged leaders to stop directing every challenge to President Yoweri Museveni, saying some issues can be addressed at the ministerial level.
He said the poor condition of the Moroto Road was evident and that he had personally used it to reach the church function.
“I used this road to come here,” Musasizi said, in reference to its deteriorating condition.
He said he was familiar with the road, having travelled on it between 2007 and 2010 while working with Amref on projects in Pader and Kitgum.
Farmers bear the brunt
Omoro district LC5 chairperson Andrew Okot Obibi called on the government to expedite the road’s tarmacking, saying its poor condition continues to hurt farmers and residents.
Okot said many farmers struggle to transport their produce to markets because of the state of the road.
The Moroto Road stretches from Gulu city through Omoro, Pader and Agago districts to Moroto in the Karamoja sub-region.
Local leaders say tarmacking the road would improve connectivity, ease the movement of goods and people and unlock the economic potential of the districts along its route.
Minister tasks priests with fighting poverty
Addressing the newly ordained priests, Musasizi urged them to work as partners in government efforts to fight poverty.
He asked them to mobilise communities to embrace government programmes designed to improve household incomes and transition people from subsistence livelihoods into the money economy.
The Archbishop of the Gulu Archdiocese, Raphael P’Mony Wokorcah, urged the newly ordained priests to remain close to the people in the communities to which they are deployed.
He told them to preach with humility and serve with love.
Wokorcah also cautioned Christians against inviting priests to beer parties, urging the clergy to avoid alcohol and remain focused on guiding and serving their communities.