By KT Reporter
District leaders in Luwero, Nakasongola, and Nakaseke have raised concerns over inadequate road equipment, saying the shortage continues to derail road maintenance despite the government’s annual one-billion-shilling grant to local governments.
In 2015, the government supplied road maintenance equipment to districts under a broader strategy aimed at reducing reliance on expensive private contractors. The machinery, procured through a loan from the Japanese government, included graders, dump trucks, and water bowsers shared among districts, cities, and municipalities.
To further strengthen road maintenance, the government increased the annual allocation to local governments to one billion shillings beginning in the 2023/2024 financial year. The move was welcomed by local leaders and residents, who expected it would improve road networks and facilitate the movement of goods and services. However, public outcry over poor and often impassable roads has persisted.
Erastus Kibirango, the LCV Chairperson of Luwero District, said the district is among those struggling with insufficient machinery, which has affected the timely execution of road works. By the end of the 2024/25 financial year, Luwero had failed to complete four road projects largely due to limited equipment.
Kibirango explained that 18 lower local governments currently depend on a single district road unit, which is unable to execute all projects within the scheduled timeframe. He noted that the unit also lacks critical equipment such as an excavator, further slowing implementation.
As a result, the district has resolved to procure additional machinery to accelerate road works while awaiting another full set of equipment from the government. In neighbouring Nakasongola, the District Chairperson Sam Kigula said the district had been advised to hire essential machinery like excavators from regional offices of the Ministry of Works and Transport, but the equipment is often unavailable.
He added that the few machines in use are overstretched, leading to frequent breakdowns. “By the end of the 2024/25 financial year, we had two road projects that were rolled over into 2025/26 because they were incomplete. These delays disrupt the transportation of goods and services since many roads remain impassable,” Kigula said.
Benjamin Makanga, the Nakaseke District Secretary for Works, also cited the high cost of maintaining worn-out machinery, noting that the district spends more than 150 million Shillings annually on replacing worn-out parts. The concerns from district leaders align with findings in the latest report by the Auditor General, Edward Akol, which highlights systemic challenges in road maintenance across the country despite increased funding.
The report for the year ending December 2025 reveals significant gaps in the implementation of road maintenance programmes, despite the government releasing 176 billion Shillings to 176 local governments, comprising districts, cities, and municipal councils, during the 2024/25 financial year to support the works. Field inspections conducted between October and December 2025 in 148 local governments found that 239 roads spanning 1,275 kilometres across 66 local governments were incomplete at the time of audit.
Additionally, 76 local governments registered 228 roads with unsatisfactory work, including broken culverts, poor drainage, and uneven carriageways prone to waterlogging. Accounting officers attributed the delays to heavy rains, limited funding, inadequate equipment, and weak enforcement of carriage load controls on local government roads.
The audit further established that 19 local governments lacked road equipment entirely, while 137 had insufficient machinery, missing critical assets such as excavators, motor graders, vibro rollers, dump trucks, bulldozers, chain loaders, and wheel loaders. Another 119 local governments operated non-functional equipment during the financial year.
“Limited availability of road equipment delays the implementation of road works, thus affecting service delivery. Accounting officers should liaise with the Ministry of Finance to secure funding for additional machinery to ensure effective and sustainable road maintenance operations,” Akol recommended.
Responding to similar concerns during a visit to Luwero last year, Works and Transport Minister Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala acknowledged the challenges faced by several districts but noted that priority for new machinery is currently being given to newly created cities and municipalities that have never received equipment.
The findings show a growing disconnect between increased funding and actual road improvements, raising questions about whether local governments have the capacity and tools required to deliver durable infrastructure.
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