RESIDENTS DECRY WORK QUALITY ON EDIOFE-OMBETENI-ETORI ROAD

A section of the road that was graded.

By Guye Elizabeth
Arua Ciy

Road users of the Ediofe-Ombeteni-Etori road are raising concerns over the quality of work done on the road by the Arua city roads committee.
While acknowledging the recent maintenance work carried out by Ayivu Division, the road users expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of the repairs, particularly regarding drainage issues.

The road in question starts at Ediofe, passes through Ombeteni trading center, and extends to Etori near the Democratic Republic of Congo border, serving as a vital link to Arua city center.

One of the road users, Josephine Sitaraya, appreciated the efforts by Arua city roads committee, urging the authorities to rework on the drainage channels to facilitate the easy flow of water. “The is fair compared to the first one but at least let them work on the where the water is supposed to pass, because as you can see the water is passing on the road let them work on the road again because it’s not looking good,” she said.

Yusuf Siraj, a boda boda rider operating on this road, also called on the Arua city roads committee to send back the contractor to address the blocked drainage channels and rework on the sections that do not meet quality standards. “We appreciate work done by these people of maintaining the road but the only problem we observed here is that the drainage channels were not properly opened and some of the parts of the road is not worked on properly, at least let them come back and rework on the road,” he said.

In response, Hon Marlon Avutia, the mayor of Ayivu division, acknowledged the concerns and pledged to follow up with the Arua city roads committee.

He pledged to ensure that the engineers responsible for the recent maintenance return to make necessary corrections, especially to the drainage system, which is crucial for road safety. “The road is under rehabilitation by Arua city roads committee so we the stakeholders of the two divisions are the members of the Arua city roads committee but the current situation of the road which the community is complaining about is true but the road is not yet done, so we shall go there to monitor where the corrections are needed to be done,” he noted.

The concerns highlights the importance of well-maintained roads in reducing accidents, improving emergency responses, and boosting economic growth.