By KT Reporter
Amuru district local government has officially handed over the site for the long-awaited rehabilitation of the 10.2 km community access roads connecting Pogo Subcounty and Atiak Town Council.
The site was handed over on Wednesday to Emmaus General Workshop Company Ug Ltd, a local contractor from Olamnyungu village in Pogo Sub-county, Amuru district.
The rehabilitation works will cost 2.2 billion shillings and are jointly funded through a 1.8 billion shillings loan from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), while the Ugandan government has injected 334 million shillings.
Speaking at the site handover, the Amuru District Engineer, Robert Arop, noted that the rehabilitation works will take eight months, with all works expected to be completed by February 4th 2026.
He noted that the scope of the project entails the construction of a multiple-span bridge over Ayugi River, rehabilitation of the road from Olamnyungu village to Atiak Town Council, installation of culverts, and swamp raising.
According to Arop, the primary aim of the project is to accelerate the commercialisation in key oilseeds value chains and thereby improve the livelihoods and resilience of the smallholders engaged in oilseed production and marketing in the district.
The National Oil Seed Project is a seven-year government programme being implemented in 81 districts of Uganda being implemented collaboratively by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Local Government.
A contract for the road works was signed on May 29 between the Amuru district local government and the contractor, with works expected to have kicked off by Thursday.
Amuru Chief Administrative Officer Charles Otai admitted expectations about the road works were high from the community, but asked them to utilise them strategically for economic change and livelihood improvement once completed. Otai urged the community to attach value to the road, emphasising that the government made the right choice of supporting the road rehabilitation.
“I will not be happy to see that the road is being used by locals here to drive animals,” he said.
He cautioned the contractor to comply with the contract timeframe for completing the project and desist from delivering shoddy work.
A representative from Emmaus General Workshop Company (U) Ltd, however, pledged to deliver the work on time, ensure cooperation with the community and technocrats, and prioritise employing locals in Olamnyungu village. He said the company will start delivering materials on site in one week.
The community members and the local leaders yesterday welcomed the commencement of the road works rehabilitation, saying it was long overdue.
Patrick Okello, the LCI Chairperson of Olamyungu village, said for over two decades, the community have been waiting for the rehabilitation of the road and the construction of a new bridge to help them connect to the neighbouring Atiak town council.
Okello said the lack of an access road linking the two communities over the years affected transportation, trade, and access to medical care since locals have to take longer routes, which are expensive and time-consuming.
The local leaders have also called on the contractor to consider employing their skilled and unskilled youth in the project as part of a broader initiative of addressing the high unemployment in the community of Olamyungu village.
Geoffrey Osborn Oceng, the Amuru Resident District Commissioner who presided over the handover, directed the contractor to start the project with the construction of the bridge, which he says has impacted transportation.
According to Ocen, the poor state of the Pogo-Atiak community access road is an example of the many roads within Amuru district that are in dire states, which need urgent government intervention and urged the Chief Administrative Officer to write officially to the Ministry of Works.
Some of the roads and bridges currently in bad shape, according to Oceng, are Pogo-Pabbo road, Pabbo to Jeng gari and Pawel road, Wiceri bridge and Aswa Bridge-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
