A bus avoiding a pothole in the middle of the road along Arua-Nebbi High way. Photos By Joseph Jurua
By Joseph Jurua
Arua
Leaders and in the West Nile region have expressed disappointment over the poor state of roads in the sub-region.
Some of the roads filled with huge potholes are the Arua-Kampala and Arua-Nebbi Highways, which road users say is making them take longer on the road.
The distance from Arua City business center to Nebbi Municipality is 81.69 kilometers. It takes an estimated one hour and 10 minutes of an average speed of 69km/hr to drive through. However, due to the poor state of the road, drivers spend three hours to cover the same distance.
The distance from Nebbi to Pakwach is 56.1k kilometers and initially took approximately one hour and 30 minutes, but motorists say they now spend two hours.
Other roads in a poor state are Koboko-Yumbe-Moyo road, Vurra Customs-Zombo-Goli border customs-Nebbi town road.
Jackson Lee Buti Atima, the Member of Parliament for Arua Central Division in Arua City, said the highway is the transit route for goods to South Sudan and the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, which generates taxes for the country.
Atima, who is also the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Regional Whip for West Nile, argued that effective tax mobilization could be affected if the road is not repaired.
He appealed to President Yoweri Museveni to direct Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) to fix the road, saying UNRA has not acted on their request to repair the road.
According to Atima, the government gave over Shs1b for a contractor to fix the Nebbi-Arua road in the 2023/2024 financial year, but to date, no work has been done.
“The road has caused the breakdown of vehicles, accidents, and loss of property,” Atima said, adding, “Those days we spent seven hours on the road, but now we take 12 hours on the road which wastes time for business.”
Atima said the Nebbi-Arua road connects Uganda to South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and since Uganda is a proponent of the East African Community, it should improve its road networks.
“If we are doing roads in DR Congo, why must the state of our roads be in a bad condition?” Atima asked.
“Pakwach bridge, the only gateway to the West Nile is equally in a sorry state and needs to be redone. Once the bridge collapses, West Nile will be cut off from other parts of Uganda,” he said.
Atima argued that the poor sorry state of roads has made heavy trucks that carry goods a target of highway robbery.
In 2021, thugs waylaid a cargo vehicle belonging to California Bus Services along the Arua-Nebbi road and robbed goods worth over shs50m.
Denis Lee Oguzu the MP for Maracha County implored the government to ensure the already surveyed Koboko-Yumbe-Moyo road is worked on as resources have already been allocated towards it.
Users Speak
Victor Eyotre, a boda boda rider, said every kilometer of the road has huge potholes, which make traveling tedious and risky.
Franco Inchy, a taxi driver plying the Nebbi-Arua route, said it takes three hours from Arua to Nebbi with the bad state of the road.
Inchy asked the government to fix the road because it is delaying transport business, damaging their vehicles, and making them lose a lot of money in repairs.
UNRA responds
Ahmad Okwir, the Station Manager of UNRA, said a contractor was working on the Nebbi-Arua road, but when he wasn’t paid, the work could not progress.
Okwir said the advert for working on the road was sent out in 2019, but the execution was done in 2023 when a lot of things had changed, including the cost of materials.
“The contractor started the work, he requested funds but has not been paid,” Okwir said.
Okwir noted that they inspected the road and discovered some sections were peeling off.
“I have discussed with the contractor to complete the works from Ulepi to Arua, but because he has not been paid, it has become difficult to compel him to work on the road.”
