The government has earmarked up to UGX 3 trillion to revamp roads in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area, Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development has said.
Appearing on a local TV show, Ramathan Ggoobi, the Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development said Kampala had been left for a long time without investment in revamping its old infrastructure.
“Kampala had indeed been left for a long time without investment in revamping its old infrastructure and we have paid a huge price but we have learnt our lessons,” Mr. Ggoobi said.
PS Ggoobi said that the government has invested heavily in revamping the old infrastructure and Kampala is going to turn into a construction site “[and] you’re going to bear with this for some time because we have brought the money and we are putting a lot of pressure on KCCA and all others involved to ensure that these roads are revamped.”
He said that the government has resolved to revamp the entire road network as a long-term strategy that includes heavy investment in revamping its infrastructure, such as roads, drainage systems, and automated traffic controls, among other things, that will change the face of the city.
“We have two major projects which are funded by money we have gotten from the World Bank and the African Development Bank. We are talking about 3 trillion shillings which is going to be invested in this city in what we call the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area to revamp infrastructure,” he said.
Ggoobi pointed out that this year, the economy of Uganda has been affected by the changing weather conditions comprised of heavy rains which have swept away many road infrastructures.
He noted that most roads are currently impassable, and some people are requesting that the government repair them. He stated that it is impossible to work on roads during El Nino, but resources have been set aside to complete the work as soon as the rain stops. For example, each district has been allocated one billion shillings for road maintenance.
The secretary to the treasury also updated the country on the funding of Masaka-Mutukula road which he said is in a very bad state yet it is a strategic one to the economy of the country.
