Digital Outcry:

How Social Media Pushed For Better Roads In Kampala

Written by: Aryane Ninsiima

In April 2023, #KampalaPothole Exhibition became a viral campaign across social media that had Ugandans framing the city’s cratered roads as art installations. 

It was an undeniable message to the authorities that citizens were frustrated with the state of the roads and the unfulfilled promises made to silence their earlier pleas.

Godwin Toko, a social media activist, stated that the purpose of the campaign was illustrate the universality of the pothole problem in Kampala as a whole and to get authorities to address the challenges.

“The week we were having that exhibition, the president met the leadership of KCCA [Kampala Capital City Authority], and they released some money which I thought was a drop in the ocean,” Toko said concerning the UGX six billion that was released to carry out maintenance.

After the exhibition, the response from authorities brought a flicker of hope to Ugandans as road sites were filled with construction equipment. 

The graders that were moving through industrial area and the digging up of the Old Kira Road felt like progress. Today, that progress has largely slowed down or even ceased. The roads that were once partly tarmacked are now covered in layers of dust.

The core issue, as cited by officials, is a familiar excuse, severely limited funds. David Luyimbazi, Executive director of KCCA, last year said that they had been receiving UGX 64 – 70 billion every financial year for the past three years which could only fix around 10 kilometres annually yet 320 kilometres of roads in Kampala require reconstruction.

When asked about the challenges causing stalled projects, Vincent B. Byendaimira, Director Physical Planning of KCCA, said, “Usually it will be issues to do with management of the projects, it could financial also.” He added that challenges such as rain and unexpected findings when digging that first have to be dealt with, can cause delays and therefore cause money to run out. 

“As you delay then you may find that money runs out especially if this money is coming from development partners, some development partners have time limits so money could run out and then the project will stall,” he added. 

This year in July, KCCA launched UGX 550 billion to upgrade 24 priority roads within the next three years. At the official launch, Sharifah Buzeki, KCCA’s Executive Director, said, “This is more than just road construction, It’s a promise to our people. It’s our commitment to make Kampala more livable, safer, and future-ready.”

The stalled construction sites are a sign of a system that has failed to execute its purpose and for the average road user, this has come with even more disruptions. 

Apart from the obvious health concerns due to the dust, businesses along such roads have faced slow deaths due to declining activity. The worsening roads have now become traffic corridors which has made commuting even harder than it was before.

Katungye Edson, a boda boda rider that frequents 7th Street in Industrial area said that the roads on which they have to do their work are bad and they can see they are trying to fix them but then they do not get fixed. Unlike other users, Katungye said that he had not been directly affected by the stalled work on the roads.

“Sometimes we demand so much of impact in a very short term, so maybe we give it 10 years maybe we give it 20 years and we see the impact of the pothole exhibition,” said Godwin Toko when he was asked if he had seen the impact of the exhibition. He also advised citizen watchdogs to follow up on budgeting in order to track how money is being spent on the road projects.

Since April 2023, the promise of improved road infrastructure in the Kampala Metropolitan Area has largely gone unfulfilled. Residents have witnessed a greater number of stalled projects and unmet commitments than tangible progress, perpetuating the daily struggles caused by a deficient road network. While it is prudent, as Toko noted, to allow KCCA and the government a reasonable timeframe to execute their plans, the persistent disconnect between public appeals on social media and visible results is testing the patience of Ugandans.

As we ask ourselves, “How far have we come,” the ultimate judgment will hinge on whether the persistent cries of citizens on social media are met with a definitive and positive response in the form of completed and quality infrastructure.