By Peter Ssebulime
Masaka: Locals in Masaka town are worried that traffic in the district is has been adversely affected after Bank of Uganda allegedly conducting construction works that are destroying Masaka Road.
The district chairperson Masaka Council Jude Mbabaali recently got involved in a bitter spat with the team sent to him by Prof. Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, the Governor Bank of Uganda, to mobilize Masaka residents to attend financial inclusion activities that the bank has scheduled in Masaka district next month, to stimulate inclusive economic growth in Greater Masaka.
Mbabaali said that “The bank is currently constructing a Currency Centre in one of green belts in Masaka town which we vehemently opposed but that is not the reason for the war, the reason for the war is the fact that the Bank, without permission, dug up tarmac roads in town to place a sewer system for the Currency Centre but instead of replacing the tarmac they had removed after installing the sewer pipes, they just poured soil that is easily eroded away whenever it rains, making the area impassable.” He added that “Later we smiled after I forced the Governor’s team to tarmac the affected roads and on seeing the extensive damage to our roads they were shocked. They immediately called the Bank’s Chief Engineer who committed himself to repairing the damaged roads.” Mbabali noted that the Governor will launch the financial inclusion activities and they shall welcome him but that will not happen if the roads are not repaired.
Meanwhile, after the tug of war with BOU staff, locals praised Mbabaali for his struggle to keep Masaka green and clean. “Thank you Chairman for the job well done however, what I suspect could have caused the delay to repair the damaged sections is presumably a delayed communication from the client (BOU) to the reinstatement team (Contracted Company) directing them to reinstate the said works as per the given execution timeline,” one of residents said.
However after gathering all the information from the Mbabaali positively responded that “The town clerk says the timelines that were given haven’t been respected and no communication is forthcoming yet the roads are wearing away. Then BOU must be held responsible because the road is a public utility which should not be taken for granted. Gradual water ingression to the Subgrade severely affects its structural stability and if not checked can lead to the Road structural failure.”
