The government having paved oil roads in the Bunyoro Region, the Omuhikirwa (Prime Minister) of Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom, says gravel feeder roads are still a menace especially to farmers who use them to take their produce to market.
Mr Andrew Kirungi Byakutaaga said that the paved roads are chiefly beneficial to people in the oil and tourism sectors since they are highways leaving the locals in the peasantry sector barely able to access markets for their agricultural output and even accessing other social services that are far away from their home villages.
He added that farmers are currently using the longer feeder roads that are connecting to polished roads that are used for a shorter distance leaving them battling the sticky muddy and potholed roads both in wet and dry seasons.
The Omuhikirwa said that this has left farmers trapped in poor road transport networks in their villages struggling to access markets for their produce.
Mr Byakutaaga, thus, urged the government to also allocate some funds to construct feeder roads in the region in order to strike a balance in its road infrastructural development programmes for both white collar job elites and farmers.
“Roads have been constructed (polished) but feeder roads that people use to transport their agricultural output to markets are not all that in good shape. Let us not construct roads for other people using them to pass to other areas leaving the local people not benefiting from them. Let’s put in more effort to ensure that feeder roads are worked on to enable people to access markets for a better livelihood.”
Mr Byakutaaga said this during the graduation ceremony of 110 heavy goods truck drivers sponsored by CNOOC and trained by Uganda Driving Standards Agency (UDSA).
The Omuhikirwa cautioned the drivers against improper road use bearing in mind that there are always other people using them.
The Mayor of Hoima City, Mr Brian Kaboyo, advised the truck drivers to respect the traffic rules and regulations while on the road to lessen accidents caused by bad driving.
