President Museveni said that despite the fact that ADB is lending Uganda Money for executing this project, it should not put up unfavourable restrictions.
President Yoweri Museveni has out rightly rejected the use of metallic slippers for the extension project of the Uganda Railway (UR) meter gauge railway line from Kyengera westwards and elsewhere in the country, saying their use is counterproductive.
Museveni argued that besides being an attraction to vandals looking for metals, metallic slippers are more expensive and in any case he added, there is already a concrete slippers industry at Kawolo which was commissioned last year.
“We have already set up a concrete slippers industry and although the African Development Bank (ADB) officials insisted that we use metallic slippers, I have refused and the concrete slippers we use now are reliable as I am informed,” he said.
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He said that despite the fact that ADB is lending Uganda Money for executing this project, it should not put up unfavourable restrictions.
Museveni was on Saturday addressing stakeholders who gathered at Kyetume railway station inland Container Depot in Nakisunga sub-county, Mukono district, after commissioning the 26.8 km stretch of the rehabilitated Mukono-Kampala UR passenger train line which was re-instituted a few months ago.
The railway line has been re-constructed using concrete sleepers that were manufactured by Imathia Construction factory in Kawolo, Lugazi Municipality. This rehabilitated section is designed for speeds of up to 120 km/hour, a significant upgrade from the old infrastructure which allowed for only 20-35 kms/hour.
The commuter train currently has a capacity of transporting 650 persons in a single trip.
During the launch, President Museveni revealed that the current transport system is irrational, and the government has begun to rationalise it to achieve effectiveness and efficiency.
“Remember the economy of Uganda had collapsed under Idi Amin since 1971 and by the time we came, it had shrunk by 40 percent. We therefore undertook an initiative to revive the economy, and it has now been revived. And because of the revival, we now have the pressure for rapid rationalisation of the transport system,” he said.
“The revived economy has put so many vehicles on the roads and these roads can’t cope rationally with the pressure. This is because everything is on the roads; cargo, petroleum products and passengers.”
President Museveni further disclosed that the government will support the extension of the railway line from Mukono to Lugazi and Jinja.
“I will support the taking of the money from the Spanish government to finish this part from here to Lugazi and then to Jinja but even without external support we are going to fund it because we have no alternative,” he said.
“Where we are going, we are not going to have the Kigoogwa incident where people got burnt trying to get free fuel when a petrol tank had overturned because much of the petrol will be transported by pipeline. So, all those trailers will get off the road,” he said.
The President also noted that the railway and water transport are cheaper and that’s why they are better than the road transport.
“It is rational that petroleum products must be transported through the pipelines to and from Mombasa, to and from Dar-es-Salaam and later alone from the refinery in Hoima to the distribution points in Buloba,” he said.
“Then the cargo should go from the roads to the railway. What we are doing here is tasting and it has caused so much excitement, we have very many passengers and we don’t know what to do with them. That’s very good. We are therefore going to work very hard, get the money so that you can get more locomotives and the wagons and extend to Kyengera, Bujjuko, Port Bell and then this side of Lugazi.”
Earlier, the Chairman for the UR Board of Directors Alhaj Abudalatif Wangubo Dhakaba had reported that government had required funds from the ADB to extend the meter gauge line from Kyengera westwards, and that one hundred new coaches would be procured in addition to construction of a park facility in Namanve.
Haji Wangubo told the President that the corporation is still grappling with historical challenges including carrying fuel for other people while under restriction to import their own fuel; he prayed for a go-ahead for the UR to import their own fuel, something he said would subsidize the cost of operation which is currently so high despite the fact that they do not want to overcharge the passengers willing to use the launched passenger train.
For one to use the passenger train from Mukono to Kampala is charged only sh3000 for a trip.
He said, “We pray that we are allowed fuel subsidies or import our own fuel; it is ironic that we carry imported fuel for others when we are choked ourselves, and sometimes are unable to meet staff obligations due to financial constraints”.
Wangubo decried the outstanding sh243bn debt accruing from sale of UR land at Nsambya and sh23bn for flyover access, and told the President that if this amount is paid to them, URC would be a self-sustaining entity.
The Minister for Works and Transport, Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala reported that since commissioning of the concrete slippers production factory at Kawolo, URC has managed to get the Kampala-Mukono stretch of the meter gauge railway operational, and added that 95 per cent of workers in the area use it.
Gen. Katumba said the test to establish viability of the line from a goods-only to a passenger service line has passed the test of time and that now the trail has turned into a challenge of how to increase the service to meet the demand of the public.
Explaining the viability of the project, Katumba said, “every morning we transport about 600 workers to Kampala, enough to fill about forty commuter taxis, in about forty minutes against the over two hours wasted in the traffic jam on Kampala-Jinja highway, and at a cost of only sh3,000 per route; the demand as of now is that we extend the service to Lugazi.”
In a speech to okey the function to proceed, Kyetume village chairperson, Juliet Talida told President Museveni that while they appreciate the bicycles given to village chairpersons across the country, for execution of their duties, some of them especially women cannot ride the bicycles and would like some simpler form of transport. The President immediately gave Talida sh6m to procure a brand new motorcycle.
Luis Brasa, the chairman of M/S Imathia Construction Company who undertook the reconstruction project, said the 28 kilo-metre stretch they covered is a symbol of what they can do when they join forces with other players, and disclosed that they completed the work in a record 28 months and within the stipulated confines of the budget.
Brasa said they have executed jobs in Saudi Arabia and South Africa, and can confidently state that railway transport is the best form of transport as they have created resultant jobs in agriculture, tourism and the manufacturing sector; he added that if government so wishes, it can use railway services as a lifeline for economic benefits all the time.
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Mukono Resident District Commissioner, Hajat Fatuma Ndisaba Nabitaka showed her satisfaction to President Museveni and the government at large for having come to the rescue of the people of Mukono and the surroundings districts from the heavy traffic which has been a very big economic obstacle in the area.
Ndisaba called upon the residents in Mukono to fully utilize the train and relieve pressure on the road for other users without option saying the other best advantage with it is the fact that it has different stages where passengers can be loaded and offloaded including; one at Namumira, Kyungu, Njerere, Namilyango-Kisenyi and Roofings.
