Kampala Minister Summoned Over Potholes

Parliament has summoned the minister of Kampala Affairs to account for a US$200 million loan that was obtained to reconstruct roads in the city. This follows a crisis of deepening potholes in roads across Kampala.

The House is also concerned with the worrying state of road carnage that escalated during the festive season and called for a review of the issuance of driving permits.

During the parliament sitting today, the house observed a moment of silence to remember scores of people that perished in road crashes during the festive season. The Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa expressed concerns with the increased cases of road carnage arising from reckless driving.

Hundreds of people have perished in road crashes with the latest being a bus that rammed into a stationary trailer on the Gulu highway near Kamudini on Thursday killing over 15 people. Tayebwa directed the Minister for Works and Transport to present a statement on the road accidents and what the enforcing agencies are doing to curb the carnage.

The deputy speaker also expressed concerns over the deplorable state of roads in Kampala despite a US$200 million loan that was obtained to reconstruct 27 roads in the city. Tayebwa noted that instead of reconstructing the roads, KCCA went for patching of potholes which did not last for long.

Tayebwa questioned the crisis of potholes on roads in Kampala and summoned the minister of Kampala affairs and Minister of works to account for the over US$200 million loan passed in the 10th Parliament to reconstruct the 27 roads.

MPs joined the speaker to decry the bad state of roads and bad roads across the country which have seen the country lose over 100 people in road accidents in only one month. Lawmakers also made proposals to mitigate the problem.