RUBANDA– A section of residents and road users of the Kabale-Kisoro road are accusing the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) of abandoning the damaged spot at Hamurwa town council in Rubanda district, which earlier this month was damaged by landslides.
The road section in Bwaara village collapsed on May 4, resulting in heavy traffic on both sides. The road links Uganda to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda.
UNRA later diverted traffic to the alternative route of 88KM Katuna-Rubaya-Muko, and 20KM Kabale-Lake Bunyonyi-Kachwekano-Rubona-Heisesero roads.
On May 8th, UNRA released a statement saying that they needed three weeks to make the damaged section repaired. However, the residents and road users led by Dr. Joseph Tindyebwa and Medard Byamukama, a taxi driver, claim that UNRA abandoned work, a week after the road was destroyed.
They claim that UNRA still has a lot of work remaining to complete the road repairs, as the initial three-week deadline is set to expire on Sunday, May, 28.
Byamukama said that although they are using part of the road that was not destroyed, it is very risky to the users.
The UNRA Kabale Station Manager, Alison Abenawe, attributes the delay to technical breakdowns in their equipment, which hindered their effectiveness in handling the emergency works.
Abenawe told our reporter on Saturday that they will resume work on Monday 29th May 2023.
