Mathias Mpuuga, the Leader of Opposition, has commended the government for the plan to construct the Masaka-Mutukula Road, saying the road had become a monument of shame for Uganda.

Mpuuga made these remarks at parliament, where he congratulated the Minister for Works and Transport, Gen. Katumba Wamala, for the plan that portrayed government negligence, yet the road is an international highway that brings in a lot of revenue into the country.

According to Mpuuga, driving through Tanzania while entering Uganda was a battlefield, and the road was bad, which caused a huge shame to the country.

“I hope that the initiative will lift the image and generate revenue for our country,” Mpuga said.

Mpuuga also called for regional balance when it comes to the distribution of infrastructure projects, wondering why western Uganda got oil roads yet other coffee-growing areas didn’t receive roads despite supporting Uganda in terms of revenue for a longer time than oil has done.

He stated that there should be infrastructural balance in developing roads both in oil districts and coffee districts, urging the government not to make the error of abandoning any project in Uganda as it did on this road.

“The Ministry of Finance together with the Ministry of Works need to harmonize balancing; while we are going to work on that international highway, the hinterland feeding into that highway is terrible,” he added.

The town of Mutukula is a border town between Uganda and Tanzania. It is an important border post and a major crossing point for both human and commercial traffic. In February 2016, the border posts between both countries merged to aid operations on both sides.