Why Uganda’s Roads Keep Crumbling—And What’s Being Done About It

By OUR REPORTER

 KAMPALA, Uganda July 20 [SHIFTMEDIA] On a sun-drenched morning in Kampala, as motorists navigate pothole-ridden streets and pedestrians balance between the roadside and ditches, one truth becomes clear—Uganda’s road infrastructure is in trouble.

Yet, behind the cracks and dust lies a deeper issue. Every year, Uganda allocates billions of shillings to build new roads, but much less attention—and funding—is given to maintaining them. That imbalance, experts warn, is taking a heavy toll on development, safety, and access to essential services.

“There’s no sustainability without maintenance,” says Minister for Works and Transport, Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala. The retired army general, now the face of Uganda’s push for infrastructure reform, has long raised the alarm. “For every three dollars we spend on road construction, we must put aside at least one dollar for maintenance,” he insists.

Katumba was speaking during the release of the 6th Independent Review Report on Uganda’s road infrastructure by CoST Uganda—an initiative promoting transparency and accountability in public infrastructure. The event, held at Kampala’s Golf Course View Hotel, brought together government officials, civil society leaders, and district authorities from across the country.

The CoST Uganda review, conducted between September 2024 and March 2025, focused on five districts: Nwoya, Kitgum, Kabarole, Gomba, and Ntoroko. While Kitgum stood out as a model for transparency and proper project disclosure, the general outlook painted a familiar picture—roads are built, but few are preserved.

This, Katumba admits, is a systemic problem. “We have great ambition to expand infrastructure to match our growing population, but maintaining what we already have is proving harder than expected,” he said. “Without proper upkeep, even the best roads will crumble.”

And crumble they have. The Minister listed the Nebbi–Arua road, Mbarara–Ibanda, Ntungamo–Rukungiri, and Gulu–Atiak among those in dire need of rehabilitation.

So What’s Going Wrong?

A key challenge lies in budget allocation. While flashy new roads are funded and celebrated, maintenance is quietly underfunded. Worse, even with the recent acquisition of 1,425 road maintenance machines distributed across Uganda’s 146 districts, local governments say they’re still grappling with outdated regulations and restrictive procurement guidelines.

“We are constrained by PPDA rules that make it hard to carry out routine or emergency road works,” said one Chief Administrative Officer during the workshop. “Even with equipment in place, we’re limited in what we can do.”

Katumba, however, says the government is listening. He revealed that President Yoweri Museveni has agreed to convene a high-level meeting with the Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ministry of Works officials to fast-track solutions to the road maintenance crisis.

But part of the problem, he notes, is also cultural. “I drive around and see people dumping garbage in drainage channels or sweeping rubbish onto the road,” he lamented. “When it rains, the drainage gets blocked, and water flows onto the tarmac, accelerating road damage. We must change this mindset.”

Indeed, infrastructure isn’t just about tarmac and bridges—it’s about ownership, responsibility, and community behavior.

Katumba called on local governments to take pride and ownership of roads built by the central government. “If you drive along Gayaza-Kalagi-Nakifuma, you’ll see filth strewn on the road. Vendors build kiosks over drainage channels. It’s unacceptable,” he said. “These roads are public investments, not private burdens.”

Encouragingly, progress is being made. CoST Uganda Manager Geoffrey Odong revealed that more local governments are now complying with the 32-point data disclosure guidelines for infrastructure projects—a key benchmark for transparency and public oversight.

“This shift in attitude is what we need,” Odong said. “Transparency is the first step toward accountability, and accountability leads to sustainability.”

 

As the event concluded, district leaders from across Uganda mingled, swapping notes and challenges. Gomba’s CAO shared how seasonal flooding disrupts even recently paved roads. Nwoya’s team discussed how community road gangs—groups of locals trained to carry out routine maintenance—could be part of the solution if properly funded.

There are no easy fixes. But what’s becoming clear is that Uganda’s road crisis is not just a technical issue—it’s a human one. It’s about children missing school because a bridge collapsed. It’s about farmers unable to reach markets during the rainy season. It’s about boda boda riders who risk their lives daily navigating potholes that should’ve been fixed years ago.

In the end, as Gen. Katumba reminded the room: “Good roads don’t just move cars—they move lives. Let’s take care of them.”