Someone ought to pass information to Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) and any other authority charged with keeping an eye on the health of our roads in Moroto. The people of Loputuk parish are slowly but surely molesting the newly designated East African Market access road. The ever shoddily maintained Moroto-Kitale road is being worsened by hungry quarry boys from Loputuk. Remember this road also takes Matheniko MP John Baptist Lokii to his country home based in Loputuk.
The last time I saw the legislator raise a voice to these famished voters was late last year. He chased them away from the mining site why? These guys are digging stones from the road space and keep extending to the heart of the highway. MP Lokii then was very bitter at this ravenous group, but today the situation is getting terrible.
Even if Lokii now has a better house in Kampala and might have little time to come sort out this issue that concerns his Manyatta in Matheniko, some leaders should wake up from sleep and/to stop these men at work. I don’t know how far UNRA Moroto office is responsible of this, but I suspect the works department at the district or Municipality might have full authority. Ok, I also feel the LC V and or the mayor of the district and Municipality respectively can take action to this effect. The place is located a few meters away from the airtel mask as you head to Loputuk.
By yesterday when my team crossed this spot heading to Tapac Sub County, the boys had created a hole that runs horizontal from the quarrying point to the middle of the way. They do it by excavating stones from the space created by running rain water on the road sides. The last thing that might happen is a driver will sink a car down because he’ll not tell that the road has a hole dug down. Someone really needs to wake up the sleeping authorities to come rescue this road.
Moroto-Kitale road is one highway that the East African community member states selected for improvement so to be used in boosting trade and communication in the region. The information I gathered indicates that World Bank will provide funding to tarmac the road from Moroto to Kitale in Kenya and it as well is meant to connect the region to Southern Sudan.
Meantime, I think it should as before be maintained by people who are locally in charge. If not the district, then it should be UNRA. Why are these guys not making things happen now? I hope they are not beginning to bank so early on the pledge from World Bank and the fact that it will be East African business interest access road. In any case the maintenance of this road even in future might still be decentralised, so that when a bridge falls down, UNRA or works department should sort it out quick and not wait for the issue to be debated in the East African Parliament.
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Then over the weekend there was this death reported in the municipality. To me this and more are just like history that is trying to repeat itself. This particular murder of a young woman comes a few weeks when another small trader was finished at the cross fire between suspected raiders and the military. This market trader probably wanted to go raid and to improve on his investment. Money, greed and ignorance alas flew him to the grave.
For the woman if at all it is love that caused her tragedy like rumour says, then...money, poverty and lack of integrity played that magic. I have my sympathy for young, stupid female people in this town being peddled by drunkards, planters and wizards to slaughter chambers. Who will help this poor wasted generation? President Museveni has done his part by appointing Fr Simon Lokodo as minister for Ethics and Integrity. I call upon this Fr Lokodo to start sweeping his own house before cleaning the whole country.
Dear Fr. Lokodo, by virtue of your origin of a church man you have that appointment from his Excellency. Politics well we understand happens just to be your destiny, but your fortune has made president Museveni to trust you with office of Minister for Integrity. What plans do you have for redundant, poor Karimojong girls trading on sex for a livelihood?
After bringing several others including young boys back from the street life of Mbale and Kampala, we need better things for our women. The culture is strong but poverty and the spread of neo-colonialism are a big force fighting the Karimojong culture. Like MP ASPRO who plans to fund a women tailoring group in Moroto, it would also be sweet for other back benchers to come up with a similar community development plan that will ensure a positive spin and empower women so they are not victims of sexual terrorism.
