The People of Yumbe District Have Mobilized Money to Construct Road on Their Own.

Residents of Kulikulinga Town Council in Yumbe District monitor the road opening at the weekend.  PHOTO / ROBERT ELEMA

The town council is one of the newly created administrative units that became operational on July 1 last year but lacks funds to run its activities.

Residents of Kulikulinga Town Council in Yumbe District have mobilised more than Shs2 million towards the construction of a road in the area.

The town council is one of the newly created administrative units that became operational on July 1 last year but lacks funds to run its activities.

The local community with support from traders raised the money to buy fuel for the grader, which was provided by the district works department.

 The Town Clerk, Mr Zubeir Aniku, said they had planned to open several roads, but due to budget constraints,  they have prioritised 6km of roads this financial year.

“We had planned to open 30km roads in Kulikulinga but since we don’t have support from the central government, we will open 6km road with funding from the local community. The business community contributed more than Shs2m to buy fuel and part will be used to facilitate the operators,” he said.

Mr Noah Ramadhan, the district physical planner, said before Kulikulinga became a town council, they drew a physical development plan for it in 2018.

“The first component of implementing the physical development plan is opening the roads. People want to buy land, and construct houses but to do ideal development, every plot by law is supposed to have direct vehicle access, so we are demarcating, pegging and opening the roads,” he said.

Mr Ramadan added that they are opening secondary roads, which are about  20 metres wide.

Mr Saffi Nuru, a resident of Machangana Village, said the project has encroached on her land.

“About an acre of my land has been affected, so I need compensation,” he said.

However, the LC3 chairperson, Mr Swali Maliamungu, said such isolated cases will be handled.

“A lot of development are expected to be undertaken such markets, roads, office block, parks, and recreational grounds, among others. We shall engage the community to offer land for such developments using good approaches. We shall not grab people’s land,” he said.

Ms Fatuma Bako, a resident, said the road opening and demarcation of plots will attract more investors, which will promote trade.

Ms Hawa Ocokoru, another local, said the new road will help them access markets, schools, and health facilities.