LIRA, UGANDA – The Ministry of Works and Transport has finally broken its silence on the growing safety concerns over misleading road markings along the Lira-Soroti Highway, attributing the problem to staff transfers and promising swift action to resolve the situation.
The Ministry’s spokesperson, Allan Ssempebwa, in an exclusive interview with The Ankole Times, acknowledged the legitimacy of complaints raised by road users and traffic authorities. He suggested the design flaws could be a result of the transfer of some staff who had been working on the road project.
“This could be as a result of the transfer of some staff working on the road project,” Ssempebwa said.
He, however, promised to follow up the matter with the project manager on the ground and also involve the Regional Traffic Officer to find possible solutions to the complaints.
The ministry’s intervention comes as the contractor, Mota-Engil Africa, remains silent on the matter.
The Regional Traffic Officer (RTO) for North Kyoga, ASP Irene Chelangat, has publicly confirmed the safety hazards posed by the road markings along the Lira-Soroti Highway.
Chelangat acknowledged that repeated attempts to get the contractor to rectify the defects have yielded limited results.
“I wrote a letter to the contractor through the Ministry of Works and Transport, but nothing was done except a few defects were rectified,” Chelangat revealed.
She decried the misleading road markings, saying humps are sometimes placed near corners, creating a dangerous situation for motorists. She further noted that some sharp corners are incorrectly marked as overtaking zones.
“As traffic officers, we cannot blame and penalise road users for nothing simply because of wrong or misleading road signs,” she said.
Chelangat added that she plans to meet the project manager of Mota-Engil Africa together with the Regional Police Commander to find a lasting solution.
Road users under the Lira-Amolatar Taxi Drivers and Conductors Association, led by Mr. Kizito Okao, have also demanded clarification over the road markings, particularly dangerous overtaking lanes on curves at Amach Market, Agwata Forest, and the S-section near Agwata Health Centre.
“These have caused many questions from our drivers on whether this is a newly introduced policy,” Okao wrote in a letter to the Regional Traffic Officer.
The seriousness of the matter was underscored by Mr. Tonny Okello, a boda boda rider in Amach Town Council, who said he lost his son in an accident he believes was caused by the misleading road signs.
Efforts to obtain a response from the project manager of Mota-Engil Africa were unsuccessful by press time, as the contractor’s known contacts were unavailable.
The Lira-Kamdini section forms part of the World Bank-funded North Eastern Road Corridor Asset Management Project (NERAMP), which aims to reduce transport costs and improve road safety along the Tororo-Kamdini corridor.
