The land owners of Kasangati have continued to express their discontentment to the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) due to the delayed compensation during the road construction of the Kasangati-Kitti Road.
Some landowners claim that they have long been pleading with the government of Uganda to work on the road channels that were blocked by the road construction works.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Kyadondo East, Nkunyingi Muwada, said while appearing on National TV that people’s land was taken to pave the way for road construction, but they have never received the money.
“From Kasangati to Kitti, most of the people were shifted from their homes, and it is unfortunate that it is coming to about nine years, and they have never been paid nor received any compensation. People can no longer use their land, settle in their homes, or farm on it. Those who handed in their land titles to the Uganda National Roads Authority have never gotten them back,” Muwada said.
According to Moses Ssessanga, a resident of Kasangati, some residents are disturbed by the stagnant water resulting from the absence of drainage since the contractor did not channel the water but rather left the work unfinished.
“The water gets stagnant in our homes because the construction workers did not create channels for the water,” Ssessanga said.
Muwada added that the residents are decrying no compensation, too much traffic, and the dusty roads that were left incomplete by the construction company.
He proposed that, in order to reduce the traffic jam, the road design should be changed to manage the traffic flow. He, therefore, said that UNRA should design a roundabout at Kasangati, Kumbuuzi, and Gayaza and create more diversionary roads.
He added that it is so funny how there is no sign of work in progress on the road yet the contract has expired.
“There was a time I raised this issue in COSASE, and we visited this road. However, UNRA and the contractor said that the construction company’s contract was supposed to be extended,” Muwada added.
The MP further said that towards the end of 2023, he visited the contractor at his base in Kitti, who faulted UNRA and the government for not paying him to clear the residents.
“The contractor said the landowners are aggrieved because they are not compensated. From Kasangati to Kitti, the compensation is about 40 billion shillings, but they only received 10 billion shillings. The work is slow; there is so much dust, and the people have no certainty because they are not aware of what’s next,” Muwada said.
The 23-kilometre Kira-Matugga road construction project between UNRA and Chongqing International Construction Corporation (CICO) started in 2021 with stakeholders’ engagement meetings in an effort to solicit views from community members. The construction process was expected to be completed by January 2024, which hasn’t been successful.
