LIRA, UGANDA – The Ministry of Works and Transport has stepped in to address growing safety concerns over misleading road markings along the Lira-Soroti Highway, with officials promising immediate corrective action following complaints from road users and traffic authorities.
Ministry Public Relations Officer Allan Ssempebwa, in an exclusive interview with this publication, confirmed that the Ministry is treating the matter with urgency and has already initiated steps to engage the project contractor on the ground, in coordination with the Regional Traffic Officer, to resolve the safety hazards.
“We have heard the concerns raised by road users and traffic officers, and we are taking decisive action,” Ssempebwa said. “Our team will meet with the project manager on site and work alongside the Regional Traffic Officer to ensure that all misleading markings are rectified and that the highway meets the required safety standards.”
The Ministry’s intervention comes as the contractor, Mota-Engil Africa, remains silent on the matter, and following public outcry over dangerous overtaking lanes marked on curves and humps placed alongside corners.
The Regional Traffic Officer (RTO) for North Kyoga, ASP Irene Chelangat, has publicly confirmed the safety hazards posed by the markings along the highway and welcomed the Ministry’s involvement.
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 were rectified,” Chelangat revealed.
She decried the “misleading markings” that often see humps placed alongside corners, a combination that puts road users at high risk. She further noted that “sometimes, all corners are indicated as overtaking zones.”
“As traffic officers, we cannot blame and penalise road users for nothing simply because of wrong or misleading indications of signs on the roads,” she said.
Chelangat added that she has unveiled plans to meet with the project manager of Mota-Engil together with the Regional Police Commander to find lasting solutions, with the Ministry now coordinating these efforts.
The road users, under the Lira-Amolatar Taxi Drivers and Conductors Association, led by Mr. Kizito Okao, have been demanding guidance on the markings, particularly citing dangerous overtaking lanes on curves at Amach market, Agwata forest, and the S-section at Agwata Health Center.
“These have caused many questions from our drivers on whether this has been a newly introduced policy,” Okao’s letter to the RTO reads.
The gravity of the situation was reinforced by Mr. Tonny Okello, a boda boda rider in Amach Town Council, who lost his son in an accident he attributes to the faulty signs.
Efforts to get a response from the project manager of Mota-Engil Africa were futile by press time, as their known contacts were reportedly unavailable.
The Lira-Kamdini section is part of the World Bank-funded North Eastern Road Corridor Asset Management Project (NERAMP), aimed at reducing transport costs and enhancing road safety along the Tororo-Kamdini corridor. The Ministry has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that the project’s safety objectives are fully realized
