By. Our Reporter
In a bid to foster technology and innovation usage in all infrastructure projects, Uganda is slated to hold the 5th annual innovation infrastructure symposium that will bring together the public service and private sector.
Speaking
ahead of the symposium slated for 31st
October in Kampala, the Head
business unit at Brain child, Walter
Wafula attributes the delays in completion of huge infrastructure projects
in the country to failure by contractors to use hi-tech while executing the
projects.
Wafula further says, this has led to poor
quality infrastructure which has translated in the country losing USD.800M as per the world bank report.
The symposium comes at a time when Uganda is launching a
new survey on road user satisfaction showing that 43% of
Ugandans are dissatisfied with Uganda’s road network.
The
survey done by Uganda Road Fund (URF) indicates that majority Ugandans are
unhappy with the narrowness of the roads, presence of potholes, inadequate road
maintenance, dust and poor drainage system respectively.
The
survey further establishes that other notable reasons for dissatisfaction with
overall experience on Uganda’s road network include reckless driving, poor road
signage and traffic congestion.
During
the presentation of the survey report at Hotel Africana, the Executive Director
of Uganda Road Fund Eng. Dr. Michael Odongo, says the report is a useful source
of data and information for government to improve on the road user experience.
For his
part, the minister of state for works Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala says, “Government will consider the views of road
users and step up efforts to improve on the road network through road
maintenance among others.”
Wamala
adds that government is going to intensify road Safety awareness
campaigns to make Ugandans appreciate their responsibility regarding road
usage.
The
symposium now seeks to provide solutions to the existing problems in the
infrastructure development sector while using innovative ways and Hi-tech.
END