The Parliament Physical Infrastructure Committee has warned members of parliament against abolishing the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), saying that it will lead to delays in the execution of projects, yet the authority has served the mandate for which it was created.
While defending the committee’s position, Dan Atwijukire Kimosho, the chairperson of the Physical Infrastructure Committee said that Uganda needs UNRA’s expertise in undertaking major national road projects like tolled express highways, managing toll operations, and twinning of major road corridors, flyovers, and long-span bridges such as the Nile Bridge.
“The government is likely to suffer a setback of delayed project implementation and strategic road infrastructure because of the shocks that come with the rationalization process. In spite of UNRA’s challenges, such as bloated structure, inadequate stakeholder management, and other governance issues, it has served the mandate it was created for,” Kimosho said.
He also noted that the certificate of financial implications of Ugx 11.56 billion had been mentioned as terminal benefits for the UNRA staff, and according to the interactions, UNRA would require Ugx 227.24 billion as a severance package for the staff.
“This is a huge cost that would erode the stated savings from the merger, and tax payers would have to dig deep into their pockets to raise that money as compensation to all UNRA staff that would be laid off. It is inappropriate to incur this unjustified cost amidst accumulated contractor debts that also have to be paid,” Kimosho added.
However, Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala, the Minister of Works and Transport, has said that abolishing UNRA will help the government save Ugx 39 billion monthly from wages paid and from the current overstuffed human resource structure of the Authority.
He urged Members of Parliament to support the government in the proposal to abolish UNRA, saying that such a move would relieve the government of the financial drain of its resources and wasteful expenditures.
According to Gen. Katumba, this money could be used to construct roads and relieve Ugandans of potholes, and by doing so, they would also be eliminating the bloated structures and functional ambiguities in government.
