The state minister for Works and Transport Musa Ecweru has assured Christian pilgrims particularly those that will cross River Katonga on Masaka Road that they will have a walkway through the river, and no need to use the alternative route of Ssembabule.
The Minister assured the country on Thursday at the Office of the Prime Minister while addressing journalists on the progress of his Ministry of Works as far as the implementation of the National Resistance Movement Manifesto 2021-2026 is concerned.
Hon. Ecweru said that Christians coming for Martyrs Day celebrations and must cross the Katonga bridge should not worry because the ministry is working around the clock to ensure that five days or a week before the 3rd of June (Martyrs Day celebrations) a pedestrian walkway will be in place.
“I want to make it abundantly clear to the country that the Christians who have started walking particularly from North Kigezi today, will pass Katonga and we are going to do whatever it takes to make sure that by the time they will arrive at Katonga, at least a pedestrian walkway will be already created to enable the Christians to comfortably march into Namugongo without adding 70 km of the Ssembabule route,” he said.
The minister also added the government is doing whatever it takes to see that the bridge is fixed in the next few weeks so that normal traffic that goes to the neighbouring countries such Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi and Rwanda resume along the usual routes.
“Because we have received concerns from the traders who are bringing merchandise from Mombasa that the route of Ssembabule which is acting as a remedy, has got its own challenges. So we are working around the clock to make that happen so traders resume using the usual routes,” he said.
The bridge over River Katonga collapsed on 11th May 2023 following the bursting of the river banks. Located approximately 80km west of Kampala, the bridge on River Katonga is part of the main gateway to the southwestern parts of the country that links Uganda to the eastern African hinterland including Rwanda, Burundi, eastern DR Congo and the northern parts of Tanzania.
As of now, the damaged section of the bridge is a no-go zone and it has been blocked by the Uganda Police Force just 2km before the bridge.
Currently, travellers and traders who use this road, are using an alternative route through Mpigi, a drive of about 185km through the 137km Kanoni-Sembabule road and the 47km Sembabule-Masaka section to reach Masaka City and beyond.
Another route is along the Kyabakuza-Mateete road along Kyogya Swamp and the Villamaria-Kabulasoke road located upstream of the same river which connects to Kampala-Masaka Road.
According to the Uganda National Road Authority spokesperson Allan Ssempebwa Kyobe, the government intends to restore the damaged section and open it to the public over the next three weeks.”
“In the long term, if we get finance, the solution is to raise the profile of that road, put a bigger drainage structure like box culverts. These will be able to allow all the huge volumes of water to be channelled through. And this is just for Katonga. We hope to fix other problematic sections of this road around the Lwera and Kalandazi area,” he said.
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