No more road contracts before land compensation, Works Minister says

[Archival Sense]

Courtesy Photo

Appearing before Parliament’s Committee on National Economy, Byamukama said Government should learn from stalled road projects where construction has been delayed by disputes over land compensation.


He proposed that when Government has to borrow for a road project, it should secure funding for both civil works and compensation of Project Affected Persons (PAPs) before contractors are brought on site.

“If we are borrowing, let’s borrow at once. We pay for the civil works, we also pay for the PAPs.”

Byamukama said the Ministry of Finance faces competing demands from sectors including health, defence and agriculture, making it difficult to release compensation funds once construction has already started.

He cited projects financed by the Islamic Development Bank, saying they are progressing well because funding for construction and compensation was secured together.

However, members of the Committee questioned the proposal, particularly the cost of borrowing such financing and its implications for Uganda’s debt burden.
video courtesy of parliament watch Ug