MBARARA: City Mayor, Engineer grilled over sh500m for Katete Bridge, repairs to start next month
Amos Tayebwa
Mbarara
The Mbarara City Mayor Robert Mugabe Kakyebezi and the city engineer Hilary Mugisha, on Wednesday, July 24, 2024 sweat plasma in a council hall during the meeting with the residents of Nyamitanga and Katete wards.
In the heated discussion, residents demanded an explanation as to why the council has failed to repair the bridge yet they received sh500m from the central government a long time ago.
It’s been close to two months since Katete main bridge on River Rwizi was closed by the City Authority to all vehicles due to extensive damages.
At the moment only pedestrians and cyclists are allowed to use that bridge.
Katete Bridge is a temporary bridge that was constructed in 1999 crosses over River Rwizi and provides a shortcut for travellers connecting to Isingiro District and a shorter route to residents who stay in areas of Katete and Nyamitanga. And it has been repaired about four times.
The closure of this bridge has since made the transport system on that road paralyzed. And locals want repairs to be treated as an emergency. Money meant for repairs was reportedly wired on to the City account.
However, there was another budget of sh5.7bn that was put in the recent national budget for the construction of Katete Bridge to the standard after lobbying by Mbarara City South Member of Parliament Mwine Mpaka.
This allocation was reportedly removed from the budget after the review by the president.
During the meeting, residents were bitter with the leadership of Mbarara City on how they had mishandled the issue of Katete Bridge.
They accused the leadership of Mbarara City for failing to use the money for the bridge and suspected that some council officials are targeting the gap to swindle that money, something they called as a reason for a delaying tactic.
One of the residents from Katete ward commonly known as Uncle Speed accused the city Engineer for being unprofessional on his job. He cursed the City authority for untimely closure of the bridge without consulting the residents. He said that since the City Council closed the bridge there has not been signals and development of working on that bridge.
“We have been silent for quite a long time from the time you closed that bridge and you have taken us for granted. We spend a lot of money on transport from our homes to town; all our businesses in Katete are counting losses. Now you call us here but still you have no solution. You came from your offices all of a sudden and closed the bridge without consulting us, why did you close it, who was complaining?
“It was one spot area that was affected on that bridge which would be repaired immediately with little money. If you are not ready, allow us to repair that bridge in our money. We have our money. Those things you are talking about cannot even cost 5M, and that money I personally have it already with me. I can even do it myself but stop playing on us, don’t take us for granted. That bridge is not as expensive as you think. If you don’t want to repair that bridge allow us we form a committee as residents and business people we do the needful,” said Uncle Speed.
Vincent Tumwebaze, another businessman from Katete said that the sh500m which the council is planning to use on that bridge for repair is too much. He said that there is suspicion that money will be misused and swindled by the individuals from the City Council.
“Stop exaggerating small things. Another thing, if you have the money already on your account why don’t you start working on that bridge, if you have failed let us contribute as locals we work on it. I am very sure that if you want to do repair on that bridge, it cannot even cost beyond sh10m,” said Tumwebaze.
Justine Kansiime added: “We have our money, we request the council to allow us since we have our own money and we work on that bridge. It’s painful for us as landlords from Katete, our tenants have started running from our houses due to the long distances they take caused by the closure of the bridge; lodges no longer work because the clients can’t cross the bridge to Katete. Let us mobilize our own money. We buy the timbers and plates we work on that bridge because we don’t even trust you, the people of council, that you will deliver the better work on that bridge.”
Gabriel Mugisha accused Kakyebezi that since he was elected as the Mayor there is no any service delivery he has ever rendered to the people of Katete.
That even the small tarmac road Katete has, was constructed during the tenure of former Mayor Wilson Tumwine. That even the temporary bridge was constructed during Tumwine’s regime.
Engineer Mugisha assured the residents that they are in the process of procurement and by mid next month (August) the actual temporary work on Katete Bridge will commence.
Mayor Kakyebezi said that he was the one who constructed that temporary bridge in 2017 when he assumed his first term of office.
“We called you here to inform you that we received money to work on your bridge so you can’t still demand that you want to do your own burungi bwansi. We can’t allow you to put in your money because in the government set up that one is not allowed. Government has committed itself to work on that bridge,” said Kakyebezi.
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