Lira City's Crumbling Roads: Business Leader Sounds Alarm, Warns of Political Repercussions
Prominent Lira businessman and former Chamber of Commerce Director Bosco Ogwang Edola has launched a blistering attack on Lira City Council over its failure to rehabilitate the city's severely deteriorating road network. Identifying critical routes including Police Road, Lira Hotel–Jimmy Akena Road, and the Shell–Corner Kamdini stretch, Ogwang warned that continued neglect of taxpayer-funded infrastructure could trigger a political backlash against leaders in the 2031 elections. While City Council Spokesperson Robert Okello Ayo confirmed that some roads are being handled under the USMID program and by contractor GULSAN, Mayor Sam Atul remained unavailable for comment. The business community's frustrations come despite a recently approved UGX 48.7 billion budget that allocates significant funds for road rehabilitation.
LCC TV NEWS
LIRA CITY, UGANDA – In a tense rebuke of local governance, prominent Lira businessman and former Chamber of Commerce Director, Bosco Ogwang Edola, has fiercely criticized the Lira City Council for its continued failure to rehabilitate the city's severely deteriorating road network. Speaking to LCC TV, Ogwang Edola expressed profound frustration, stating that the crumbling infrastructure is crippling transport, causing extensive damage to vehicles and motorcycles, and severely disrupting commercial activities across the city .
Ogwang Edola, who is also the Awitong (Clan Leader) of the Omolo-Atar-Odyak-Kol Clan, specifically identified several critical roads that require urgent intervention. These include the route from Odokomit through Amazon Club, Police Road to Margarita Palace Hotel, the Lira Hotel-UPC President Jimmy Akena Road, Lira Hotel-Pauline Hotel Road, Te-Atat-Bar Ogole Road, and the stretch from Shell Petrol Station to Corner Kamdini and Iteso Bar .
A Crisis of Accountability
The business leader, who has previously raised concerns over the execution of infrastructure projects in the city, accused the city authorities of turning a deaf ear to the repeated pleas of traders and residents . He made a direct appeal to Lira City Mayor Sam Atul, urging him to prioritize road maintenance and arguing that the city generates sufficient local revenue to finance the repairs without sole reliance on external programs .
"The business community pays taxes faithfully, yet the roads continue to deteriorate while leaders remain silent," Ogwang Edola stated, highlighting the growing disillusionment among the commercial sector . He warned that the worsening road network is inflating transport costs and frustrating motorists and traders, directly impacting the city's economic vitality.
In a stark political warning, Ogwang Edola cautioned that if city leaders continue to neglect public concerns and merely rely on government programs such as the Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development (USMID) without delivering tangible services, they risk being rejected by voters in the 2031 general elections .
Council's Defense and the Budget Allocation
Responding to the criticism, Lira City Council Spokesperson Robert Okello Ayo acknowledged that several roads in the city are indeed in poor condition. He provided a breakdown of the rehabilitation efforts, noting that some roads have been handed over to the construction company GULSAN, while others are being addressed under the ongoing USMID program .
According to Okello, the Police Road-Margarita Palace Hotel section is being handled under the USMID project, while GULSAN is responsible for rehabilitating the road from Shell Petrol Station to Corner Kamdini and Iteso Bar . The rehabilitation of a 450-meter stretch of Police Road within the Lira Regional Referral Hospital complex is part of these works to improve emergency response .
Interestingly, the city council recently approved a UGX 48.7 billion budget for the 2026/2027 financial year, with a significant portion allocated to road rehabilitation and drainage improvement . This allocation suggests that while the council has identified infrastructure as a priority, the execution and communication of these plans remain contentious points for the business community.
A History of Frustration
Ogwang Edola's frustrations are not new. In previous years, he has led the business community in inspecting and criticizing the slow progress and quality of USMID-funded projects in the city. In 2022, he voiced dissatisfaction with the work of contractors like Abubaker Technical Services and Al-Nuami Group, citing slow progress and inconsistencies in road measurements .
The concerns also touch on financial absorption, as reports indicated that Lira City had to return a significant portion of USMID funds to the consolidated fund due to implementation challenges . This issue of under-utilization of funds intended for critical infrastructure has attracted the attention of oversight bodies like the Inspectorate of Government .
Efforts by the LCC TV to obtain a response from Lira City Mayor Sam Atul regarding the specific concerns raised by Ogwang Edola were unsuccessful by the time this story was published .
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