By Denis Okello and Denish Ongora (editor@vol.co.ug)
Lira City.
Lango Parliamentary group the umbrella body that brings together all members of Parliament from Lango Sub-region have resolved to hold a peaceful demonstration on Saturday 22nd January 2022 if government do not take decisive action in the next 24 hours on Lira-Kamdini road.
The peaceful demonstration according to the statement released by LPG will start from Lira City and proceed to the 67 Kilometer Lira-Kamdini road.
The legislators say they have informed the police on the planned demonstration and urged the public to join them on the peaceful march to demand for the immediate, non-negotiable reconstruction of the Lira-Kamdini highway.
The MPs also want government to look for alternative funds to begin reconstruction as the endless World Bank processes proceed and asked the President to intervene on the matter of Lango roads.
The Chairperson of Lango Parliamentary Group Judith Alyek also Kole District woman MP says as Lango MPs, they have exhausted all measures of dialogue with UNRA, the Minister of Works and the Prime Minister on the Lira-Kamdini road.
The group’s vice chairperson Moses Okot Bitek contends that the people of Lango are tired of burying their people from road accidents and we are done with persistent writing of letters and raising issues on the floor of parliament on this road.
The Spokesperson of Uganda Police Force Fred Enanga told Voice of Lango that the MPs are self centered and wants to take advantage politicize the issue of the road. He says what he knows is that the program is awaiting for clearance from World Bank.
According to Enanga the MPs should be straight forward and stop engaging in acts that will disrupt people and cause other innocent people problems.
Enanga says demonstrating by holding procession from Lira to Kamdini will not help and people should desist from joining the MPs in their demonstration.
According to a statement released by UNRA on Sunday, the design for the planned intervention which is total reconstruction is complete and the start of work awaits clearance safeguards documents by the World Bank.
The authority said the contractor is sufficiently equipped and on site to immediately embark on the works.
FULL Lango Parliamentary Group Statement.
Press Statement by Lango parliamentary group (LPG)
Dissatisfaction on the delayed Lira-Kamdini highway works and the marginalization of Lango roads.
19th January 2022
Lango Parliamentary group (LPG) would like to extend its appreciation to the government of Uganda towards the various efforts made towards socio-economic transformation in the country across different sectors. Among these sectors include roads.Since 2011,the government of Uganda has constructed 2,131.2 km of tarmac on our national roads. Unfortunately, none of these roads were from Lango sub-region.Lango sub-region has been marginalized and only has 3% of the tarmacked national road network .
The 152.5 km of tarmac available are only present in 4 out of 10 districts including Lira City. A great percentage of the population therefore has never seen a tarmacked road yet the region is one of the top revenue contributors in the country. One of the purportedly tarmacked roads is the Lira-Kamdini highway which as at February 2021 last year had more than 1,500 potholes on a 75 km stretch.A contractor, M/S Mota engil was awarded the contract to work on the road on 27th June 2018 with funding from World bank but to date no works have began with the road in a deplorable condition.
Several complaints were raised by members of parliament to UNRA in early February 2021 but ever since only occasional maintenance works have been seen. On 24th of August 2021 ,Lango MPs led by their Chair carried out an oversight visit on selected Lango roads including the Lira-Kamdini road.
Promises were given that works would commence soon.On 26th August 2021 ,the Prime Minister on the floor of parliament in response to a complaint on the Lira-Kamdini road and Lango roads,from the Secretary general,LPG committed that Lira-Kamdini works would begin by latest end of October 2021.She further assured the august house that the process of getting approvals for the quarry sites was proceeding well.
On the 15th of September 2021, in a meeting held between Lango MPs and UNRA, the Executive Director and her team further committed that works would begin by early October 2021.A field tour of Lango roads was made between 28th to 30th October 2021.The Minister of Works and the Executive director of UNRA were present together with MPs from all the 10 districts in Lango.Lango MPs, through their Chairperson presented a petition on the Lango roads.
The MPs were shocked to be told that the works could not proceed on the Lira-Kamdini road as planned due to lack of quarry site approvals and requirement of an environmental and social impact assessment report which would be submitted to World bank by 5th November 2021.Three months after commitments to start there are no tangible works and only the same explanations as given by the prime minister four months ago.The road continues to claim many lives including pregnant women who fail to make it during emergencies. It is a vital road that connects Lango to Buganda,Bunyoro, Acholi,Teso,West Nile and further links it to Kenya,DRC and South Sudan.
As Lango MPs, we have exhausted all measures of dialogue with UNRA,the Minister of Works and the Prime Minister on the Lira-Kamdini road.We note that UNRA has been sluggish,lazy, untruthful and disinterested in addressing road construction matters in Lango sub-region as equally witnessed in the 191 km Rwenkunye to Apac to Puranga road .This road was delayed for 4 years necessitating LPG intervention.We are tired of burying our people from road accidents and we are done with persistent writing of letters and raising issues on the floor of parliament on this road. We have therefore resolved that on Saturday the 16th of January 2022 the MPs from Lango shall hold a peaceful demonstration starting at 10 am from Lira City and proceeding to Lira-Kamdini road if no action is taken on this road within 24 hours.
We have notified the police of our demonstration. We urge the public to join us in this peaceful march to demand immediate, non-negotiable reconstruction of the Lira-Kamdini highway. Government should look for alternative funds to begin reconstruction as the endless World bank processes proceed. We also ask the President to intervene on the matter of Lango roads.
Source : Lango Parliamentary Group
