BY ZALIMON BASIGHALHA (GOOD LUCK)
The Minister of State for National Guidance in the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, Godfrey Baluku Kabbyanga Kiime has clarified that as of now government has not yet identified a contractor to work on Kikorongo – Mpondwe road.
Minister Kabbyanga’s clarification follows speculations that are being circulated by a section of local leaders and residents within Kasese district that the said road would be constructed by Dott Services Limited, something he has described as baseless.
The road which is in a sorry state stretches from Kikorongo to Mpondwe border of Uganda with the Democratic Republic of Congo and was last time constructed in 2006 by SBI International.
The business communities at the border town of Mpondwe and drivers have severally expressed their concerns over the poor state of the said to government but in vain.
In 2021, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and his Congolese counterpart, Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo commissioned a 243.7 billion shillings (233km road project) to be constructed in the DRC by the Dott Services Limited, a Ugandan construction firm with their headquarters at Kabirizi in Kasese district.
It is against this background that the communities in Kasese district have demanded that government prioritizes the construction of Kikorongo – Mpondwe road using the company that is already on ground.
However, Minister Kabbyanga elaborates that Dott Services Limited was contracted to construct roads in DRC, revealing that the Kikorongo – Mpondwe road does not have any contractor.
According to him, the issues surrounding the construction of Kikorongo – Mpondwe road are still being discussed by cabinet.
While officiating at the official inauguration of Elite Peak Hotel in Mpondwe- Lhubiriha Town Council on December 11, 2023, the Minister of State for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Hon. Martin Mugara, explained that government intends to secure a foreign loan purposely to develop the Kikorongo – Mpondwe Highway.
But on Sunday, Mr. Fauza Mbusa Kihuta, the Secretary for the Religious Affairs at the Office of the Kasese District Khadhi, stressed that Kikorongo – Mpondwe road being in a poor state was a clear manifestation that the leaders were not doing much in terms of advocacy.
ENDS