Recently, while commissioning the Nyakahita- Kazo road, President Yoweri Museveni took a strong stance against vandals who steal road signs, and promised to deal with them decisively.
Over the last ten years the Government has invested billions of dollars in infrastructure development, with a huge chunk of this tax payers’ money going to the construction or upgrading of roads.
Further, when the road signs are stolen, replacing them becomes an uphill task because the process entails budgetary considerations, something that takes time to realize hence the aggravation of road risks.
Needless to mention, thousands of Ugandans have perished on our roads largely because the vital road signs that should act as a guide to drivers and other road users have been stolen by thugs.
But these criminals are not alone in the commission of crime; they have partners in the form of steel manufacturers, who buy the ‘raw material’ from the thugs.
Then we have the drunken drivers, who have also played a big role by knocking down different road signs.
All Ugandans benefit from having good roads, and it should be everybody’s responsibility to ensure they are protected.
The moral turpitude of Ugandans has waned and something ought to be done to stop any escalation. A few years ago, thugs had made a habit of vandalizing telephone lines to get their filthy hands on the pricey copper wires and fibre optic lines.
It took the Uganda Telecom, which came up with a whistle-blower initiative that also involved monetary rewards, to minimize the thefts.
So, as the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) seeks to protect our roads from these uncouth vandals, it could also borrow a leaf from UTL.
