Why do Roman Empire roads exist while those of ancient Uganda don’t.

By Ahmed Kateregga Musaazi.

In my home Nnambiriizi village, in Mawogola County, Ssembabule District, we have a fourth main road. However, traces of the first, second and third roads are also visible.

But why did Bannambiriizi abandon old roads and dig new ones? The most obvious was due to heavy water running down stream, these seasonal roads creating potholes.

When my father, the late Sheikh Abbaas Kimera, was still RC and later LC l Chairperson from 1985 to 1997, he insisted on maintaining the third road. But upon his death in 2002, his successor Sulaiti Lulangwa started a new one that passes via his home.

I have not yet got an opportunity of visiting Rome, but if given a chance, l would like to tour ancient roads that were built under the Roman empire before the emergency of modern Latin speaking states like Italy, France, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, etc …

While English explorers between 1862 and 1875 were in praise of Buganda kingdom’s road network especially in the capital which was Banda, Lubaga, before Nakatema, Nabulagala now Kasubi and later Mengo, we can not trace it because it was abandoned in favor of the colonial road network that was based at Kampala now Old Kampala, Nakasero, Makerere, Mulago, Kololo and Muyenga.

After attending Ghana ‘s independence Golden Jubilee in 2007, President Museveni wondered why post independence roads that were built by the country’s first President Dr. Kwame Nkrumah still visible yet those of the late works minister Eng. John Nasasira roads didn’t last long

Nasasira, then defended himself and his ministry saying that it depended on funding, and his roads’ lifespan was designed to be short and medium.

There are other complaints about Uganda’s roads being smaller than it was before rehabilitation. UNRA officials attribute it to encroachers  in road reserves.

Critiques say that roads have become thinner due to corruption in the industry where some officials have to take a share from the money appropriated by Parliament. The Auditor General,Public Accounts Committee, civil society and media are supposed to expose this before courts take action.

Some of the road accidents are attributed to smaller roads, yet vehicles being in poor mechanical conditions, bad drivers including drunkards, the worst being untrained and unlicenced bodaboda riders.

NRM Government is credited for the modern road network throughout the country from Busia on the Kenya boarder to Katuna on Rwanda boarder, and from Mutukula on Tanzania boarder to Nimule on South Sudan boarder.

In Masaka city alone, the ongoing road construction under USMID launched by Minister for Lands, Housing and Urban Development Judith Nalule Naabakooba, has made the Kabaka’s city marvelous where 1,000 solar street lights are being installed.

Therefore, while we rehabilitate and reconstruct old roads and building new ones, we should ensure that they have longer life span not only like those of Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana but also those of ancient Roman empire.

The culture of abandoning old to new  roads like in Nnambiriizi, the former capital of defunct Bwera kingdom, is not good. We should keep them at least for cultural tourism.

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