Roads, lights advance Karamoja

For decades, the Karamoja road network was characterised by gaping potholes, gullies and as a single lane murram carriage. Since 2013, the Government has reconstructed and upgraded Nakapiripirit Moroto-Soroti road to bitumen.

Today, Karamoja has benefited from the road that has been under construction since November 2016. The road has cost the taxpayer about sh248b. The Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) supervising resident engineer, Bernard Ocan, says now that Karamoja is home to marble and limestone, the road section has been upgraded to paved bituminous standard that can bear heavy load Karamoja is home to marble and limestone among other natural resources. 

WORKS PROGRESS

"The Akisim-Moroto road (LOT 2) is ready to be handed over to the Government," Ocan says.

The Moroto-Akisim road has over 11km of Napak town road built with rock fill and raised to one metre high in the water logged areas. This allows water to penetrate underneath the road without damage. It has one of the best bridges in the country - K'angole Bridge measuring 78 metres with welldesigned gabions.

It also has eight road signs. Sixty-three ducts are for easier access to public  utilities. The Moroto-Akisim road has 6km sidewalks at K'angole, Morulinga, Lodoi, Kokeris and Lorengechora in most urbanised centres along the route that leads to Soroti.

It also has 600 metres of drainage channels lined with stone pitch in all the town councils that lie in the stretch of 50km. Wang Xinglu, the project manager, says the MorotoAkisim road  was completed on schedule. The project has seen the  construction of 11km of town roads in K'angole, Matany and at Napak district headquarters.



STREET LIGHTING

These include, 1.37km  Mission Road in K'angole town council with street lighting. The road has given the town a facelift. Additional lighting has been fixed along Cathedral Road and K'angole Health Centre. Matany Hospital road has made access to the facility easier.

The Government installed solar street lighting to allow the patients moving at night to easily access the  hospital. The Napak district headquarters street has been fixed with solar lighting to secure isolated premises from vandalism.

Other town roads include the Police loop (138m), Lomonyang Road (462m), Adolf Road (1.02km), State Lodge Road (498m), Kokeris-Matany (5.4km) and K'angole Mission (1.39km). Commenting on the roads, Daniel Okwi, the planning engineer says, "It was mandatory for the project to fix 4km of town roads as per the contract. He said this was later revised and the contractor constructed 11km of the Napak town roads.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

According to Joseph Lomonyang, the district chairperson, the improvement of Karamoja roads has also brought social development, especially in form of improved food security.

"In Karamoja the positive and multifaceted social multiplier effect of enhanced access to basic services has been documented," he says.

Lomonyang commended the Government for upgrading the road, saying travel time to Karamoja from Kampala has reduced from 12 to seven hours.

 

IMPROVING GOVERNANCE

Richard Ssebandeke, the Napak district Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) says better attention to roads in Karamoja has shown enhanced quality of citizenship.

"Roads are the wealth of nations, a tool for social attachment, economic development and environmental sustainability," he says, adding that roads could also be a measure of governance.

He appealed to local leaders to sensitise the community against vandalism of road signs, saying, they are significant to the road users.

 RESIDENTS SPEAK OUT

The Napak RDC, Hajji Kadunabi Lubega, says the making of Moroto-Akisim road is a blessing to the people of Karamoja. He commended the contractor for works on town roads, as his own initiative.

Lubega appealed to residents to be calm as the contractor does additional works on the K'angole drainage, saying the heavy rains are to blame for the recent floods in the district.

Mike Bishanga, the project's human resource manager, says the Moroto-Akisim road has skilled youth in surveying, construction and power engineering. "At least we can see some of the locals earning a living thanks to this knowledge,"he says.

Bishanga thanked Napak district for the co-operation during the construction. Dr Mark Ilukol, a resident, says: "Whoever said we shall not wait for Karamoja to develop should eat his words."

He says the national power grid dream for Karamoja has become reality. Ilukol said the region's mineral potential is great, hence the need to embark on infrastructure development, which is a major ingredient in economic growth.

John Loduk, a resident of Lorengechora says feeder roads also need to be worked on. Simon Akol, a businessman in the region, says reduced transport costs have led to increased profits in their businesses.

He thanked the Government for good planning in the development of Karamoja. Today he is optimistic that life will be much easier following the construction of the all-weather MorotoAkisim road by the Government.