Poor Roads in Kigezi Cripple Tourism Amid Rainy Season Disruptions

Tourism stakeholders in the Kigezi sub-region are voicing strong concerns over deteriorating roads that severely impact the industry’s growth. During heavy rains, critical routes become impassable, blocking access to popular sites and leading to significant financial setbacks.

Canon Ivan Mbabazi Batuma, chairperson of Kigezi Cluster, highlighted that these road cutoffs result in lost revenue for hotels, transport, and food services. Clients often cancel or fail to reach booked destinations, damaging credibility. He noted that some gorilla trekking tourists opt for Rwanda due to better road infrastructure there.

Batuma has called for the government to honor the president’s promise to tarmac tourism roads, a demand raised for the past decade. He also suggested deploying fueled standby equipment to clear debris, landslides, and mudslides promptly, especially near Bwindi National Park.

The Ministry of Works and Transport recently confirmed a cutoff on the Rubuguri-Rushaga-Katojo road in Kisoro district at Rwabataha, with more sections at risk from torrential rains. This marks the second such incident, following a November blockage that stranded tourists overnight. Teams are mobilizing excavators for emergency repairs, urging caution for motorists.

Eng. Alison Abenabo, Kabale Area Station Manager, acknowledged tarmacking as an ideal fix but urged locals to adopt modern farming to curb soil erosion from uphill areas. She also called for regulating roadside quarrying and sand mining, which exacerbate collapses when saturated.

Source: Daily Monitor (Uganda)