Eronda
JF-Expert Member
- Dec 16, 2025
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Byamukama made the remarks on Monday after inspecting the roads, which are being built to serve the AFCON match venue. “So, we believe by March, most of the people (contractors) will have finished the tarmac. That’s up to like 90% remaining, maybe to put the road signs and the drainages,” he said.
The minister said the 43-kilometre network is meant to ease pressure on existing roads during tournament games. “We have brought alternative routes because people going for matches and those on private business were all competing for the same roads. That’s why we bring these access roads to decongest in case there are games,” he said.
“The 43-kilometre access roads will cost government 90.8 billion shillings. This is government of Uganda funded project with taxpayers’ money,” he added.The works have been slowed in places by disputes over land. Byamukama said that the vast majority of the project affected persons have cooperated and that the roads were planned long ago.
“95% of the residents and landowners, they have given the land; they know this. These are accessed roads gazetted a long time ago in line with the Hoima city master plan for development,” he said.
He said that the remaining 5% were being misled. “The 5%, I think some people are taking advantage of them. They had told them to pay lawyers we go to court, and after, government will compensate you. But after teaching them today, most of them will withdraw,” he said.
Byamukama said that the President was pleased with progress and intolerant to graft, adding that some engineers had been removed from the project over attempts to inflate costs.
“The president of Uganda is very happy and is allergic to corruption. I want to alert you that some people were chased from this project, our engineers. They were attempting to hike the price of AFCON roads from 5.5 billion now to 8.5 billion. They had even put some ghost project affected persons. You find that there is a house built in the road, in the middle of the road and we need money to move that house. The president chased them,” he said.
He warned both officials and contractors against collusion. “My technical people, you must be patriotic, we shall chase you. Also, the contractors, you connect with our technical people to steal government of money. We shall not allow. We need the road to be done with the money we have.”
The minister appealed to the contractors, who he said are local firms, to also subcontract local contractors to benefit from the project. “I’m appealing to the contractors; the money we are paying you, you are local contractors. This money, you should also subcontract local contractors, and they should give jobs to the local people they have found here,” he said.
Byamukama also addressed the plight of small traders, who he said have been pushed away from match-day trading.
“The issue of our local people; they have not been allowed to sell their things during the days of the games. When there are games, they chase them away. We are going to work with FUFA, we are going to work with the city authorities to ensure these people are put in a gazetted place and they sell their things like how vuvuzela, T-shirts and other things, they make money,” he said.
Source: Chimp Reports
