Monday, September 20, 2010

President Museveni to Rebuild Rural Roads

At a celebration for the 75th anniversary of the Kitabi Seminary in Bushenyi, President Museveni publically promised to rebuild the so called "feeder roads" that provide means of transportation throughout rural Uganda. Some of the important priorities on the list of these rural roads are the ones that link Uganda to Tanzania and Uganda to Rwanda. Since most people travel by road in Uganda, the prospect of better roads is an important one. According to New Vision Online, Uganda has about 6,200 miles of "national roads" which connect the country to its neighbors and major populations in cities to each other and handle about 80% of Uganda's traffic. In addition, Uganda has about 15,500 miles of feeder roads. Only about 1300 miles (about 20%) of Uganda's national roads are actually tarmacked. The rest are "murram" which in English is close to gravel. In essence, Museveni is making promises that so that it seems he is helping local rural populations, when, in reality, the roads considered to be "national" are of primary importance. Continuing with the celebration, Museveni laid the foundation of what would be a sh500m multipurpose hall, or $222,000. Museveni himself contributed sh60m or $26,000 to the construction project, and close to $9000 for the party itself. Archbishop Paul K. Bakyenga, 2nd deputy Prime Minister, Henry Kajura and Gen. Kahinda Otafiire attended, men the article writer referred to as "the old boys". Museveni is continuing partisan politics by supporting Christian schools and giving an aura of power and approval to religious and military leaders by attending. The entire celebration served as a reminder that Museveni is still a political candidate, and still has power and influence over many groups in Uganda.

by Margaret Nunne

No comments:

Post a Comment