Africa-Press – Uganda. President Museveni has warned Ministry of Works and Transport as well as Local Government officials for failure to properly maintain roads.
Speaking during a campaign rally at Kameke Primary School grounds in Pallisa District on Wednesday, Museveni mentioned that since taking power 40 years ago, NRM has contributed to the country’s development, by tarmacking several roads.
“In Pallisa you are the best witnesses of this development. When NRM came to power the tarmac was passing through Tororo from Jinja to Mbale and Kenya. We immediately made a tarmac road from Nakalama to Tirinyi to Mbale meaning somebody coming from Kampala going to the East doesn’t have to go through Tororo. We left Tororo to the Kenyans and said we Ugandans should use this one here. We also decided to make Mbale irrelevant since it was far. We made a road from Tirinyi- Pallisa- Nkongoro to Kumi,” Museveni said.
Reads riot act
The president said whereas government had tarmacked a number of roads, several others are not yet tarmacked but was quick to point out that even when they are murram, they ought to be maintained in a good condition.
“For the murram roads going to villages, there are government units in Mbale which should be maintaining the murram roads like this one I used to come here. They have just made it because they knew I was coming. I have warned ministry of works officials,” he said, amidst ululation from the crowd.
He said despite the Ministry of Works having a road unit in Mbale which is responsible for Pallisa, most murram roads are not maintained
“There is a ministry of works unit in Mbale with everything like graders, excavator, chain loader, and roller. They are all there. They should be maintaining these roads.I have advised Gen Katumba that his group should wake up.”
He said the same warning also goes out to local governments which he said receive shs1 billion per year but there is nothing to show of it.
“Each district has its own road equipment and we give them shs1 billion. If it is not enough, tell us and we put more money. The RDC and the LC5 should insist on these roads being done properly.”
Museveni expressed frustration at shoddy works done on roads, mentioning the one he had used to travel to the rally venue which he said had only been graded upon learning he was to use it.
“ The road which I used while coming here had just been graded. They have not put murram and not compacted it. And now they have not put drainage. When it rains, it will be full of water now. Are these people making a road or swimming pool?”
The President directed LC5 chairmen and councillors to always supervise the work done on roads.
The campaigns
Turning to the campaigns, Museveni told the gathering that Pallisa has every reason to vote NRM for another term in power.
“Pallisa has got 498 rural villages and 477 of them have boreholes or some other clean water which is 96%. The villages without are only 21 which is 4%. You have electricity, and railway in some parts all under social infrastructure,” he said.
On social infrastructure, Museveni said the district has 76 government primary schools and nine secondary schools.
He noted that whereas some sub counties and parishes don’t have schools, this will be the priority in the forthcoming term.
“Our policy is to have one government primary school per parish and one secondary school per sub county. Parishes without primary schools will get and the sub counties without will also get. In this term we have built five seed schools which shows one by one makes a bundle. We are building slowly.”
On health, he said the district has a hospital and 14 health centre IIIs , noting that the plan is to have a health centre III per sub county and a health centre IV per county.
He also reminded the population of their cardinal role of creating wealth for their households.
“Ever since we came into government, we have been telling you that. Through bonna bagaggawale, Operation Wealth Creation, Entandikwa among others. Some of the people were not caring about what we were saying but fortunately some were listening.”
Museveni said Ugandan must participate in wealth creation, noting that Parish Development Model funds and Emyooga are meant for this purpose, urging locals to make use of them.
Pallisa district’s 90 parishes have cumulatively received shs27.7 billion for PDM and out of this, shs27.2 billion has been disbursed to 27,343 beneficiary households out of the 60,882 households in the district.
In terms of Emyooga, Pallisa’s four constituencies have 60 saccos with 38,622 membes and have so far received shs3.6 billion.
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