“When the roots of a tree begin to decay, it spreads death to the branches.”
By Fidel Boy Leon
In Uganda’s history of national development, roads were meant to be the lifelines that connected prosperity to people. But now, those very arteries are clogging—and the decay appears to be spreading. The proverb warns us: if the roots rot, the branches won’t survive. And in this case, the root is Uganda’s crippled infrastructure financing system.
On July 30, 2025, Minister of Works and Transport, Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala stood before Parliament not with promises of progress, but with a sobering list of setbacks: 27 major road and bridge projects have either stalled or been suspended altogether.
From high-profile projects like the Kampala-Mpigi Expressway to vital oil roads such as Masindi-Biiso and Kabale-Kiziranfumbi, construction sites have turned into graveyards of potential.
According to the minister, the primary culprit is a massive funding gap: only Shs682 billion of the required Shs3.153 trillion was made available for the 2025/26 financial year, leaving a shortfall of Shs2.472 trillion.
Even worse, the government is still dragging behind Shs1.071 trillion in unpaid arrears. Contractors have halted or drastically slowed down operations, not just due to unpaid bills, but because the delays are now incurring commercial interest and financial claims.
It’s not just about funding. The roadblocks go deeper, literally. Land acquisition continues to paralyse projects, especially those backed by international partners. Shs443 billion is needed to compensate landowners and unlock access to sites, but that, too, is missing in action.
The government’s inability to meet its counterpart obligations has left externally-funded projects grounded, despite the willingness of development partners to proceed. It’s a tragic irony: help is available, but we cannot take it because the internal systems aren’t functioning.
The delay in road development is already costing Uganda more than time; it’s costing billions. Katumba Wamala warned that 1,993 kilometres of roads need immediate maintenance, while 260 kilometres have already deteriorated to the point of needing full rehabilitation.
If neglected further, these roads could cost Shs2.59 billion per kilometre to repair, three times the cost of standard periodic maintenance. This spiralling inefficiency could result in a preventable fiscal loss of up to Shs180 billion.
It’s a clear example of how delayed action doesn’t just stall growth but multiplies the cost of catching up. Infrastructure, like health, is cheaper to maintain than to fix once broken.
But just as Uganda needed accountability and clarity from its leaders, the Ministry of Finance was nowhere to be found. Parliament could not even engage in a full debate on the issue because none of the responsible ministers were present to respond to the report.
The absence drew a sharp rebuke from Speaker Anita Among, who held Government Chief Whip Hamson Obua personally accountable:
“This is not for debate. Whip, we shall hold you accountable.”
Yet another debate was postponed, this time to Tuesday, August 5, 2025. Meanwhile, the roads remain unfinished, the bills keep climbing, and the public grows weary of promises with no pavement beneath them.
This crisis is about more than roads. It’s a reflection of a deeper governance issue, a disconnect between ambition and execution, between planning and political will. Roads are more than concrete; they’re economic enablers. They connect farmers to markets, students to schools, and Uganda to opportunity.
Without swift, coordinated action, the nation’s infrastructure will continue to decay, and with it, so will the branches of growth it once promised.