General Katumba Wamala, the Honourable Minister of State for Works on the 10th of October 2019, inspected and commissioned the fully operational Kibembe Cable Bridge in Sironko District. The bridge connects the communities separated by the River Sironko.
“While inspecting the completed works, I felt confident that the works were executed to Ministry of Works standards, the rest of the industry should follow this example to ensure that the phrase shoddy works is eliminated,” said Katumba.
Kibembe foot bridge is the fifth cable bridge constructed under the partnership between the Ministry of Works and Transport and Bridges to Prosperity, an international Non-governmental organization which assists isolated communities in obtaining access to essential health care, education and their sources of livelihood by building foot bridges over impassable rivers.
The partnership aims to tackle poor and inefficient connectivity in isolated rural communities especially those in hilly terrain susceptible to natural calamities such as seasonal floods. The partnership is aimed to span over a period of 5 years during which time 10 cable foot bridges will be constructed in locations identified through a systematic need’s assessment process.
Through the program, a capacity building/training will be rolled out through Mt. Elgon Labour-Based Training Centre-MELTC for both the Public and Private sectors. The program will give accreditation of Standards for Footbridges technology in Uganda and also conduct a Nationwide Needs Assessment. This will enable the Ministry to scale up and roll out the technology across Uganda.
The previously existing makeshift timber and log bridges were dangerous, unreliable and led to several deaths. This intervention has therefore offered a safe, and much more reliable means of transport.
“Over the years, some wananchi have lost their lives while attempting to cross these makeshift bridges, hence the great need to build these standardized bridges,” said the Minister while addressing the gathering.
The government has already made provisions to cover the entire 5 years of the project which started in Mt. Elgon and will expand to the West and South Western parts of Uganda. The other bridges constructed under this project include,
