Uganda: To build or not build DRC roads

By Dr John W. Bahana

A short while ago, news reports revealed that Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) had reached an agreement to jointly finance the construction of all-weather or tarmac roads across the joint frontiers.

 This would be done under a public-private partnership (PPP) at a total cost of approximately $334.5m.

Uganda would be responsible for 20% of the total cost. The roads were Kisoro-Bunagana-Rutshuru- Goma (89km), Beni to Butembo (45km),  Kasindi-Beni (80km) or a total of 223 km. I was personally excited to the level of disbelief. My childhood dream, at least a fraction of it was coming true.

I must reveal to readers who do not know me well that I come from that great region of Uganda called Kigezi, the centre of hardworking people, very clever at school, at least during my school years, but divided from their own communities by colonialists at the turn of the last century.

In southwestern today's Uganda, the colonialist sat at a permanent water pond, Ikigezi, meaning a water reservoir that was neither a lake nor a pond in the local language. The administrative area thereafter was called Kigezi.

But more significantly, and deeply insensitive, was the fact that representatives of three colonial powers, the Belgians, Germans and British, aware of the beauty and picturesque mountain range called Muhabura (a beacon), decided to share it amongst themselves.

There was no representative of the local inhabitants, although there reigned in the region a king, Umwami Rwabugiri. And so the mountain range went to the German, Belgian and British colonial enterprise.

Farther north, the notorious Belgian King Leopold's representatives and the British were to share present-day Lake Edward and Lake Albert unbothered what the local communities of Bakonzho, the Bamba of Bundibugyo and the Banyoro felt.

The Rwenzori mountain range went the same way, cut into two pieces like a wedding cake to be shared not by local communities but foreign exploiters. the colonialists.

The colonialists did not stop there. North of Lake Albert (Lake Kabarega) they just sat at a table in Berlin and divided the people of present-day Uganda's West Nile throwing groups under different colonial regimes that have had a far-reaching impact on our African communities.

The essence of this background is to inform readers that we need to rethink beyond the psychology of "the big fish in a small pond".

Whether in our lifetime, or beyond those imaginary borders will revert to our African heritage. Social media has been one of the avenues of discussing the pros and cons of Uganda investing in the road construction in DRC.

First, the news appeared like the "usually sometimes" fake. Then the Government came out to confirm with the head of state himself castigating those that were arguing against the plan.

As was the case like similar policies, the details are given by the spokesperson, Ofwono Opondo, were short. So a huge impact investment with political intonations was left to speculators, opportunists and opposition politicians to meander around with nothing any more convincing. I have already explained my birth origins.

As a child, my father used to traverse the colonial borders in search of commodities to trade in and make some little money that saw me through school. He traversed the eastern Congo to trade in wild animal skins, of the leopard type and rare minerals, especially gold.

My aunt worked as a nurse at Jomba Mission Hospital in Rutshuru not far from the Uganda-DRC border.

During my first year as a trainee scientist at Kawanda Research Station, I travelled to Bundibugyo to review cocoa production challenges, that part of the country together with Mukono district having been chosen as pioneer growers of the cocoa crop.

I easily understood the common heritage of the Bamba and Bakonzho across the frontier.

In my social travels, I drove through Goli customs post in West Nile region into Congo, reaching the nearest administrative town of Beni that 40 years later, I can never forget my experiences of my trip.

I and my companions, a one Lt Oryem and Lt Kakonge of Uganda Army were told to travel with a long pole that we would need to use to estimate the depth of flooded sections of the roads before driving through such parts.

That was the state of roads in DRC and they have since become worse because of extreme insecurity and incapable government administration.

While I was the coordinator of the local chapter of the International Community of Banyakigezi, I had a series of meetings with the late General Aronda Nyakairima (RIP) during which we discussed the need for Uganda to construct all-season roads from Kisoro to Mpondwe, near Kasese. We narrowed down to two major justifications for such a highway.

One may recall that a number of years back, terrorists connected to the "Interahamwe" of Rwanda had attacked foreign tourists in the Bwindi National Park and killed our valued foreign visitors. Rapid access to the national parks in the event of a security threat via good roads was one of the elements that I discussed with the general.

We did not discuss extending such infrastructure into Congo. Gen. Nyakairima should be smiling in his afterlife that access roads into Congo are now a reality. One school of thought reasons that Uganda needs to build its own roads before advancing into foreign neighbouring territory.

This line says our roads are near impassable and must be constructed to international standards first. Fair enough. But the proponents are blind or deliberately ignore the major and significant reasons why the planned roads into Congo should have come on board decades ago.

Eastern Congo, all the way from Lubumbashi to Goma to Beni is endowed with minerals the world seeks for the development of technology that is not available anywhere else, at least not in same quantities and quality.

In short, eastern DRC is endowed with strategic minerals the rest of the world is short of.

Additionally, Uganda already earns substantial amounts through informal and formal trade. It should be clear that our interconnectivity with DRC is as much of interest to our economy and our security as was the Uganda Railway from Mombasa to Kampala that was constructed by colonialists to link Uganda to the European markets.

A quick economic calculation will show that our potholed roads can have a turnround via earnings from improved trade with mineral-rich eastern DRC.

That Kinshasa, the DRC's capital is too far for investment in eastern DRC is an opportune argument for Uganda to jump at the welcoming hand of the Tshisekedi government.

I support the investment like I did years back in my discussions with the late Aronda and like my father would be happy to travel on paved roads in search of high-value minerals that saw me to where I am today. In the spirit of Pan Africanism and in the consideration of economic strategies, Uganda cannot argue any better.

The roads should have been constructed yesterday. 

The writer is a development scientist who has travelled extensively in the region.