Kampala Capital City Authority seeks 24bn to fix potholes in Kampala that have made roads unpassable. The prayer was made by the minister of state for Kampala Kabuye Kyofa who told parliament that Kampala is currently grappling with 13500 square kilometers of potholes across the five divisions.
While presenting a statement on the terrible state of roads in Kampala, the minister of state for Kampala Kabuye Kyofa affairs told parliament that currently, Kampala has 13500 square kilometers of potholes in five divisions that currently require repairs.
Kyofa says 33,750 square kilometers of roads in Kampala have been severely depleted and require full repairs on a given section where patching is no longer an alternative.
Accordingly, the Shs6bn which has been allocated to Kampala to patch potholes is just a drop in the ocean according to the minister who explained that they need up to 24bn to fix potholes and carry out section repairs plus some drainage repair.
However, the minister told parliament that over Shs800bn is required in the long run to revamp roads and make potholes in Kampala’s history. Kyofa explains that this is under the Drainage Master Plan and Kampala Development Plan, supplemented with an estimated average of UGX 40 billion annually from the URF to meet the city’s roads and drainage maintenance needs.
Legislators expressed concerns about how Potholes are embarrassing the national image on the international scene and called on the government to prioritize issues of the infrastructure of the Capital City to give Kampala a facelift.
They noted that most roads in the city have outlived their design life and patching is no longer an alternative, calling on the government to find funds for new roads.