Kampala Faces 24000 Man-hour Loss Everyday Due To Traffic Jam

Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) approximates that commuters in the Kampala lose 24,000 man-hours every day due to traffic jams. Man-hour refers to the average amount of work that one person can do in an hour.

In an attempt to salvage the menace that is hampering the country’s productivity, Japan has offered Uganda USD 813K for a major infrastructure upgrade.

On Wednesday, 27 February, the Japanese government offered Uganda funds that will be channeled to improve road networks within Kampala to help reduce traffic snarl ups.

According to Mr Kazuhiko Koshikawa, the vice president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) the project that is set to kick off in October will benefit directly a projected 4 Mn city dwellers who operate around the city on a daily basis.

Uganda’s Minister of Finance Matia Kasaija and Mr Kazuhiko Koshikawa signed the grant agreement to fund installation of traffic light signals at 30 city road intersections.

While signing the deal, Koshihawa said, “Most importantly, the project will reduce severe traffic congestion, which is one of the urgent issues of the city as laid out in the National Development Plan.”

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The intense traffic clogging has been attributed to the narrow roads, minimal traffic-controlled junctions, reckless driving, and unworthy road vehicles that often breakdown in the middle of roads.

This move comes following reports that Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), a body responsible for the operations of the capital city of Kampala, has managed to achieve only 12 per cent of its five-year strategic plan for the city. A plan that was drawn in 2014 and is supposed to end later this year.

Inside the five-year-strategic plan were intentions to revamp urban infrastructure including upgrade of road networks within the CBD. The project implementation unfortunately failed to take effect fully largely due to lack of funding.

KCCA had anticipated to spend USD 1.5 Bn in the execution of the plan but only USD 607 Mn was realised.

Featured Image Courtesy: Global Press Journal