Nabbanja lashes out at KCCA, road contractors over ‘shoddy works’

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During her inspection of Kampala roads under construction earlier today (March 11), Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja lashed out at Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) engineering department and road contractors on various roads under construction, over what she termed as shoddy work.

She also lamented that such irregularities earn the government a bad track record report. She expressed her disappointment after establishing that some roads did not have a drainage system, manhole covers were protruding in the middle of the road, and garbage was left unattended, among other things. The ongoing works were undertaken by China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) and KCCA engineers.  

Some of the roads that Nabbanja inspected included Portbell road, Spring Road, 5th street, 6th street, 7th street, 8th street, Sir Apollo Kagwa road, Kyebando ring road, and Ssentema road, among other roads.

PM Nabbanja during the inspection. (Credit: Simon Peter Tumwine)

"Why are you making our government appear ridiculous? We pay you money to do standard work, but end up doing shoddy work. I demand an explanation from you, Sharifah Buzeki (KCCA executive director).

We need an explanation and or maybe an apology to the Ugandans for why the roads are being constructed this way. On Kyebando ring road, two cyclists are bedridden because of your shoddy work,” Nabbanja said. 

Nabbanja said, adding that the NRM government has been blaming Kampala residents for not voting for it, yet the problem comes from the contractors who are doing substandard work.

In Lubya village in Lubaga division, Nabbanja demanded answers over the dirty water flooding inside people’s homes and shops, while in Kyebando, manholes and drainage systems were not covered, among other infrastructure failures.

“CCCC, you have done shoddy work on Ssentema road, and we ask you to repeat some work on that road. I have asked the government chief valuer and the engineers to go and do a value for money audit.

She revealed that on the majority of the roads under construction, the roads with openings are used as dumping sites, adding that KCCA should start enforcing garbage laws.



The Prime Minister, whose team included the state minister for Works Musa Ecweru, added that in an industrial area, on one of the roads, the contractor had proposed to complete the road construction in two months, but he hasn’t started on anything, adding that no contractor was found at work and all their excavators and machinery were parked.

“I doubt whether that will be possible. To me, the road works of that section are at 30%, not 80% as they claim, because a lot of work needs to be done, although there is some major work that is visible,” Nabbanja said.

The Prime Minister revealed that in the 2024-2025 plan, KCCA was supposed to construct 29 road junctions and signals, but only 22 road junctions were constructed.

Nabbanja also pledged to follow up on a case where renowned entrepreneur Hassan Basajjabalaba was accused of obstructing the opening up of a main drainage channel in Industrial Area.

Calling for the Prime Minister's intervention, Ecweru revealed that some car sellers in Kampala have resorted to selling their cars along the walkways and claim to have paid sh40m a month.

“In Nakawa, we have information that some officers are renting out walkways to car dealers for sh40m per month. When you try chasing these people away from the walkway, they say that they have some high ups and have and are employing a number of youths,” Ecweru revealed.

Buzeki, KCCA executive director, also expressed displeasure towards the shoddy road works by the contractors, and KCCA, however, promised to strengthen the supervision of the road works.