NEWS- Angry residents of Manyoni Lower in Bumageni Parish, Bungokho Sub-county, Mbale District, staged a protest on Friday, blocking the road and accusing Ms. Destiny Engineering Co. LTD of embezzling funds allocated for the construction of the Manyoni-Wambewo Road at Napalinga.
The 6.1 km road, which connects the Mbale-Tororo highway to the Maumbe Mukhwana Memorial Institute, has been neglected, despite its importance to the community.
Frustrated residents blocked the road at Napalinga trading center, removed broken culvert, planting banana trees and crops in the middle to draw attention to its poor state.
Residents expressed dissatisfaction after numerous appeals to local authorities about the poor infrastructure.
They said they feel abandoned, even though the road serves key institutions like Maumbe Mukhwana Memorial Institute and the Child Restoration Outreach (CRO), where the Mbale Heroes team is based among others.
Wanakina George, Production and Marketing Officer for Mbale District, told Bugisu intellectual forum that, the road was one of five roads funded by the Agriculture Cluster Development Project (ACDP) under the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries. Destiny Engineering Co. Ltd was awarded the contract for rehabilitating the 6.1 km farm access road under procurement reference No: MAAIF-ACDP/WORKS/2021-2022/00040-04, worth Ugx192m.
Wanakina stated, “The construction was scheduled to begin in August 2022 and be completed by June 2023, with supervision from the Project Engineer of MAAIF and the District Engineer. The contractor reported to the district in September 2022, and site handover occurred in the same month. Site surveys began on October 6, 2022.”
He reassured the community that the road would be completed by the end of the current financial year in June.
Mr. Wambi Hamidu a resident at Napalinga, explained that when the Maumbe Mukhwana Memorial Institute was established, President Museveni authorized the construction of the road for easy access before coming for commissioning the school and funds were released.
“The government only understands the language of demonstration, that’s why we’re here today. We are suffering as if we don’t have leaders. Our MP disappeared as soon as he reported to parliament,” he said.
Deputy RDC for Mbale District, Nakawala Naume, informed Bugisu intellectual reporter that, “As a district, they have limited influence since the contractor was awarded by the central government. But we have written multiple letters to request government intervention.”
Nakawala urged the community to remain calm, assuring them that the district is committed to seeing the road completed so residents can have reliable infrastructure for their daily needs.
