Alebtong, Uganda | Following a presidential directive, each district and municipality has been allocated Shs1 billion for the maintenance of roads outside the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) jurisdiction.
The funding was highlighted in the Physical Infrastructure Committee’s report on the 2023/2024 policy statement of the Ministry of Works and Transport.
However, concerns have emerged over poor implementation in Alebtong District.
Assistant Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Jimmy Okello has cautioned district officials against substandard work, warning that corruption and negligence could undermine the government’s efforts to improve local road networks.
Okello specifically singled out the Anyiti–Okwalomogo road in Abako Sub-county and the Alebtong–Omoro road, claiming that the district engineering department has failed to deliver quality work.
He accused engineers of falsely claiming new bridge constructions, when in reality only rehabilitations had been done.
He said that the government has injected a lot of money into road works, but the people contracted to implement the projects fail to meet targets.
According to him, this is not only a waste of resources but also a betrayal of the public trust.
He further noted that corruption within the district engineering department is undermining the NRM manifesto, which prioritizes infrastructure development as a key pillar of service delivery.
Okello urged engineers to take responsibility and ensure value for money, pointing out that Members of Parliament are lobbying for funds while the output on the ground remains unsatisfactory.
The Assistant RDC’s warning comes as communities in Alebtong and across the Lango Sub-region continue to decry poor road conditions, which hamper transportation, trade, and access to essential services.
Attempts to get comments from district officials in regard to the allegations did not yield a response at the time of this publication.