Roads: How sleepy Pallisa will wake up to booming trade

Tarmacking the 111km Tirinyi-Pallisa-Kumi and Pallisa-Kamonkoli roads is almost complete as 85% of the work is done, according to the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA).

The road, funded by the Government of Uganda and Islamic Development Bank, is the first of its kind in this remote eastern part of the country, since independence.

It is expected to end the agony locals and traders have endured for decades.

However, although the Government hopes, in its broader infrastructure development agenda, to open up remote areas and regions for new economic opportunities, contractors said they are confronted with a litany of unresolved land disputes, which are hampering their work.

The UNRA project manager, Eng. Richard Abala, said this has been the biggest challenge that contractors have encountered. He said families have failed to agree on whose name should be registered with UNRA for purposes of channelling compensation funds.

COMPENSATION
Abala observed that land disputes pitting family members against each other, families against churches and churches against church-owned schools are rife, with each wanting to be compensated for the same land.

In the family-church conflicts, the scenario is that most land was donated by fore-fathers to the places of worship, but the descendants claim to be the owners who should receive compensation.

Also churches and the schools they founded are fighting over compensation.

"The disputes are worrying because they constrain the contractors, forcing them to skip sections of the road hoping to return later when they are resolved.

TROUBLE SPOTS
Notable trouble spots with running disputes include Mukongoro trading centre and Kanyom in Kumi, Sekulo, Kamonkoli and Limoto in Budaka and Kibuku district respectively.

The Kumi resident district commissioner (RDC) could not be reached for a comment but his counterpart in Kibuku, Juliet Najuma, said conflicts were rife.

"We are doing all that is possible to see that warring parties in these disputes reach a consensus, so that the project is not delayed further," Najuma said.

Pallisa RDC Kyeyune Ssenyonjo said his office worked hard to resolve the land compensation conflicts there.

However, the residents have generally embraced the road project and want the Government to invoke the compulsory acquisition measures to stem delays that are instigated by selfish interests.

The Land Act Amendment Bill 2017 empowers the Government to acquire rights in private land for a public purpose, without the consent of its owner.

"The Government should take firm action against selfish people frustrating the project," James Okut Okello, 73, a retired senior civil servant said.

"Development of the road infrastructure in the subregion is fundamental for economic emancipation. It is changing the grim history of the past into development. The roads will thrust this part of the country into the centre of national development planning, which explains why we cannot afford to lose this opportunity," the resident of Mukongoro trading centre added.

COST OF CONSTRUCTION
The roads are being constructed by Arab Contractors at a cost of sh470.637b. The 67km Tirinyi-Pallisa-Kumi stretch will cost sh274.1b and is expected to be completed in March 2021.

The Pallisa-Kamonkoli stretch is 44km and will cost sh205.5b and is expected to be completed by June 2021.

According to the contractual agreement, the contractor should make partial handover to UNRA when 60% of the works are done.

Abala said the contractor is about to hand over the completed sections. Currently, he said, the contractor is marking lanes and fixing signposts.

Pallisa district leaders are happy that 99% of the labour force was recruited from the communities of the respective recipient districts.

Some of the residents that spoke to New Vision expressed delight.

Jimmy Dean Emokol, 45, a taxi driver who plies the Pallisa-Kumi route, said tarmacking the road has been a big relief to travellers.

"It takes 45 minutes to travel to Kumi from Pallisa. Previously, the same journey lasted four hours and also exposed travellers to armed robbers," he said.

Elioda Malinga, 44, another taxi driver on the same route, said taxis used to operate strictly from 7:00am to 1:00pm. Those who ventured past that time would fall victim to robbers, who would mount illegal roadblocks at swamps such as the Papayo swamp in Kanyum.

"Victims would be flogged before being robbed of all their possessions. However, with a smooth tarmacked road, the robbers have vanished," Malinga said.

VIRGIN ECONOMIC FIELDS
The Pallisa district production officer, Dr Patrick Okot Bodo, observed that besides the citrus and livestock, Pallisa and other districts that lie on the edge of Lake Kyoga will get other opportunities in marine sector. He said marine resources can be exploited for economic development.

"Policymakers ought to consider the idea of exploiting the expansive natural water of Lake Kyoga, by initiating cage fish farming to create employment, especially among the youth and fetch the country foreign exchange," Bodo said.