MOYO, UGANDA: The head of a delegation from the African Development Bank (ADB) headquarters in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Mr George Makagoma has confirmed that preliminary findings on the proposed construction of the Laropi-Omi Bridge on the river Nile and Laropi -Jale road project is genuine.
Mr Makagoma who toured the proposed project sites Friday last week, February 24, 2023, said the government of Uganda approached the ADB to finance Laropi-Omi Bridge and Laropi Jale road back in 2020 but the Bank could not respond immediately due to the scourge of Covid-19.
He was briefing the leaders, stakeholders, and leaders Laropi bridge construction advocacy Forum in the Madi sub-region shortly after a field visit to the Uganda-South Sudan border at Jale.
“We have been sent by the management of the Bank for a fact-finding mission to among others see if there is a river and to sketch the scope of works and the cost involved and assess if the locals need the bridge and the roads”. said Mr Makagoma.
He said since the government of Uganda has decided that the bridge and the road be funded, the Bank will come back in a duration of two to three months to determine the details of what will be covered and what cannot be covered in terms of resources.
“By June we will send our final report to the government of Uganda and if your own people in UNRA work hard you will be able to deal with the issue of procurement so that the contract is sealed in December and by January 2024 the roads equipment’s and plants for the bridge are expected at the sites”.
Mr Makagoma said the Bank will also look at social developments accompanying the project like equipping Moyo general referral hospital to the standard of Lacor hospital in Gulu, supporting one girl’s boarding school, and other complimentary issues as may be determined by the district local government.
He however advised the top political leadership in the Madi sub-region to apply the necessary pressure on UNRA and the Ministry of Finance so that ADB does not change the language.
The chairman of Uganda Roads Fund Mr. Amajuru Simon expressed dismay at what he termed as a failure to execute its mandate and accused UNRA of failing to furnish the Ministry of Finance with a technical report on the Bridge and Laropi Jale road.
“UNRA stand warned, do what you are supposed to do because for two years in a row, you have not provided the technical report and I will keep pushing you and if need be i will be compelled to apply fire under your seats”.
The MP Moyo West Aleru Tom Aza said the people of the Madi sub-region have suffered from unfair development decisions’ because Moyo was among the first 16 districts when Uganda attained independence.
MP Aleru Tom Aza said the time for lamentations is over and appealed to the government to include Moyo in serious development priorities because the district received a raw deal from serving governments from Independence.
The chairman of the West Nile Development Association (WENDA) Mr. Anyama Williams who is also the district chairman of Moyo hailed the government of Uganda for prioritizing the long-awaited Laropi –Omi Bridge and Laropi-Jale road project which for decades has been top on the development agenda.
Mr. Anyama Williams acclaimed ADB for successfully funding a number of projects in the West Nile region and Madi sub-region in particular which includes; North West Small Holder Agriculture Development Program (NSADP)
Residents speak
Both locals at Laropi town council and Fodia village in Afoji parish that borders Southern Sudan have expressed satisfaction over the visit of the team from ADB corroborating that the poor road stretch from Laropi town council to the border has retarded the business boom in the border area.
Drachiri Emmanuel a resident of Fodia village said as border residents they were wondering what sort of calamity has befallen them because across Uganda the people occupying border areas are prosperous but they are languishing in poverty.
Ms. Alua Alice a fading businesswoman said, the poor road surface from Laropi to Jale border point has reduced several members of the business community in the area to paupers, the cost of doing business is never the same with some parts of Uganda, and lots of merchandise were lost in motor accidents.
“We have waited and waited and anytime we are dying, but we pray to God that we should not go back to him without seeing the tarmac road passing our village to the Jale border, am affected by the road but ready to pave the way even without compensation”. Ms. Alua emotionally remarked.
Laropi-Omi Ferry crosses over 200 motor vehicles, 400 motorcycles, and 2200 passengers daily; it makes 20 trips or crosses 40 times and has a daily schedule of about 12 hours of operations.
From the bitter experience of the 20 years of insurgency of the rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army, transport costs in the Madi sub-region remained marginally high partly due to the miserable roads’ status and the absence of a bridge that connects Adjumani to Moyo and Obongi districts.
The Chairman of Adjumani Business Association Mr. Amaza Emmanuel recently told journalists the cost of cement is the highest in the Madi sub-region due to the high costs of transport which he notes impacts heavily on the cost of constructing a house, he says could explain why several households could not afford decent housing.
“Poor infrastructure has been keen-sighted midst the numerous factors that have qualified the West Nile region to be rated as the second poorest region in Uganda after Karamoja”.
In the strategic context of Uganda, Laropi-Omi Bridge and Jale road project has been aligned with vision 2040 as it seeks to harness the country’s potential growth to opportunities in Agriculture, tourism, and trade.
The project is also in line with the country’s strategic paper (CSP) 2022-2026 main strategic pillar whose aim is to develop quality infrastructure to support agro-industrialization for structural transformation.
Moyo district is particularly comparatively less developed, even when it was among the pioneer districts in Uganda at the time of Independence, in 61 years, the district has 2 kilometers of the paved road network, public service delivery is hampered by poor access, and post harvests losses and needless loss of lives in motor accidents.
The leaders of the Advocacy Forum for the construction of Laropi Bridge and Laropi- Jale road project led by former Obongi County MP Hassan Fungaro who have fired the first salvo, have lauded the government for the response and vows to remain consistent and use direct regime communications networks for fast-tracking the progressions of the project.
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