Improved road network drives Bunyoro into opportunities

For centuries, travelling from the rural districts of Kagadi, Kibaale and Kakumiro to Kampala through Mubende was a nightmare.

Kagadi to Mubende, a distance of just 105km, would take two days in the 1980s and reaching Kampala would require a minimum of three days.

But today, with the new road network, the journey from Kagadi to Mubende takes just one hour and 30 minutes.

The journey to Kampala has reduced from three days to four hours. The road network has not only eased transport, but also created opportunities for roadside vendors to earn a living.

Francis Kamaaina, who deals in shoes, says previously he would order stock from Kampala and this would take two days to arrive, but now it takes five hours.

"If we fail to develop, it will be us to blame because the Government has put in place an enabling environment for business ventures," Kamaaina says.

Roadside vendors reap benefits

The roadside market vendors along the newly tarmacked Mubende-Kakumiro-Kibaale- Kagadi road are reaping big from sales to travellers.

Almost every trading centre on the road has vegetables, fruits, matooke, charcoal, Irish and sweet potatoes. On a stretch of 10km from Kibaale to Kakumiro, there are over 40 vendors operating daily from Kibaale town to Buseesa-Hakasalaba.

Noeline Nyamaizi, a vendor, says she always sells food to people headed to Kampala, which has improved her livelihood.

"I was a housewife, who depended on my husband for everything. These days, I also contribute financially to the family and we are living a happy life," Nyamaizi says.

Scolastica Musimenta, a vendor, says if the road had been constructed 10 years back, they would be in a different class, as women who are self-reliant.

Rosemary Nassozi, who sells sweet potatoes, among other items at Hakabanda trading centre, says the construction of the road has enabled them to have a daily income of between sh50,000 and sh100,000.

Nassozi says the money has helped them pay school fees for their children and also meet other family needs.

Leaders speak out

The Kakumiro LC3 chairperson, Fred Mwesigwa, says the completion of the road section in his town has led to appreciation of the land.

Mwesigwa says a plot of land, which used go for sh5m, has increased to between sh10m and sh15m within town.

He says many traders who had stores in Mubende municipality are establishing themselves in Kakumiro town so that they can purchase directly from the farmers now that transport has been eased.

The state minister in the office of the Vice-President, Dr. Kasirivu Atwooki, who is also the Bugangaizi West MP, says the completion of the road is a big achievement and fulfilment of the National Resistance Movement party promise to the people of Bunyoro and Mubende.

"At the beginning of this term, the NRM government promised to upgrade this road and now it has been completed, which is a sign that the Government is committed to deliver to the people," says Kasirivu.

Matia Kasaija, the finance minister, who is also the Buyanja County legislator in Kibaale district, says apart from people reaping from related benefits, people along the road benefited from compensations.

According to Kasaija, over sh20.32b was paid to over 2,000 people affected by the road construction and this has enabled them to construct decent houses, in addition to starting businesses.

"When you drive from Mubende-Kakumiro-Kibaale to Kagadi, the landscape in terms of houses has greatly changed compared to the period before the construction of the road," says Kasaija.

He says the Government plans to improve people's livelihoods, both directly and indirectly, and this has been achieved.

"The Government has played its role of creating an enabling environment," he said. "Now the onus is on the people to develop economically," added Kasaija.