On Tuesday, July 15, 2025, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for the rehabilitation of the important artery known as the Salaama–Munyonyo Road.
within the road system of Kampala. The occasion, which took place in Salaama’s Takajunge Village, represents a major advancement in the government’s continuous attempts to enhance service delivery and modernize municipal infrastructure.
As part of the Kampala City Roads Rehabilitation project, China Railway 18th Bureau Group Co. Ltd. is also redeveloping Kulekaana Junction as part of the 8.1-kilometer road project.
KCRRP project.
Accompanied by Maama Janet Kataaha Museveni, First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, President Museveni praised the advancements and reaffirmed that these infrastructure improvements are merely a portion of Uganda’s larger transformation program.
The President issued a warning against considering better roads as a means to an end in and of themselves, even as he acknowledged their significance in increasing economic activity and urban mobility.
President Museveni stated, “We are pleased to inspect this Salaama road, which is a component of a larger project that will expand Kampala’s tarmac road coverage to over 900 km out of 1,200 km.”
This is a commendable attempt, but as I have repeatedly stated, you sleep in your homes, not on paved roadways. Although roads play a role in growth, we also need to prioritize household income and wealth building,” he continued.
The President took advantage of the opportunity to highlight people who are gaining from government initiatives to end poverty. He used Mrs. Fausta Nalweyiso of Kibumbiro in Busega as an example, whose
He hailed the Parish Development Model (PDM) piggery initiative as a brilliant illustration of generating money at the local level.
We hope that all homesteads will exhibit that. This is what we mean when we talk about changing society,” he stated.
President Museveni further underlined that generating wealth involves both job creation and personal success.
It allows you to take care of things on your own, even before the government does.
intervenes,” the President stated, citing earlier initiatives like as Entandikwa, Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), NAADS, and more recently the Parish Development Model and Emyooga. He also noted that the government has consistently and purposefully incorporated wealth creation into its national budgeting process.
However, he cited inefficiencies and the requirement for direct beneficiary access as reasons for the move away from centrally controlled programs like OWC and NAADS and toward more community-based models.
There was a heated argument in Cabinet, but I didn’t back down. The President remarked, “I’m thrilled to hear that the PDM is beginning to pick up and doing very well.”
The President pledged to look into problems pertaining to theft and improper handling of PDM funding in recognition of the complaints that already existed. He pointed out that even while money is being distributed, it is still not enough in crowded cities where there is a higher need. He promised to look for more financing and alluded to a new policy intervention that would give parish local leaders their own funding allocation.
President Museveni used the example of Busega Market, which lacked a proper connecting road from the Northern Bypass, to illustrate his point. “How would I know that there is no road to the market if no one tells me? I had to go there myself. Why should people elect MPs who don’t help them?” Museveni asked, adding that such decisions impede government efforts to address urgent local issues. “The problem you have in this town is electing opposition politicians who don’t help you. They don’t follow up,” Museveni said.
He urged people to make sure their leaders properly promote community development and to hold them accountable.
The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) reports that construction has started.
on May 14, 2024, and the contractor has laid 2.4 kilometers of asphalt thus far. It is anticipated that the entire stretch will be finished by December 31, 2025.
Hajjat Sharifah Buzeki, the Executive Director of KCCA, gave an update on the progress of the larger KCRRP project, which is responsible for the reconstruction of Salaama Road. In total, 32.9 km, or 37.93% of the 86.9 km project scope, have been finished since the KCRRP’s December 5, 2022, commencement, she disclosed.
“Old Mudende, Kigala, Kabega, Wamala, Muteesa I, Luwafu, Kayemba, Musito, Suuna II, and Masiro roads are among the important roads that have already been completed under this program,” she stated.
She went on to say that the government is determined to invest UGX 550 billion over the next three years in the ongoing improvement of 85 kilometers of city roadways. According to her, these enhancements should greatly increase Kampala’s economic activity and aid in the communities’ shift to the money economy.
In her speech, Hajjat Minsa Kabanda, Minister for Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs, emphasized the government’s dedication to urban development.
Local NRM politicians, like Makindye chairperson Lukyamuzi Kakooza, praised the project and pointed out that opposition groups had turned Salaama Road’s deplorable state into a political tool.
“The opposition used this road leading to Kiruddu National Referral Hospital as a platform to attack the government for putting patients’ lives in jeopardy,” Mr. Kakooza stated.
Hon. Rosemary Sseninde, the NRM Director for Mobilization; Kampala RCC, the Minister of State for Youth and Children Affairs; Hon. Balaam Barugahara,
Ms. Sarah Kanyike, Kampala’s presidential advisor; and Ms. Asiimwe Jane Muhindo.
The occasion was also attended by district chairpersons from Kampala and the surrounding districts.
