Article By Romie Musiimenta
Legislators of the Parliamentary Forum on Road Safety have asked the Ministry of Finance to allocate Sh26 billion in this financial year 2023/2024 for road safety campaigns countrywide.
The National Road Safety Action Plan strategically outlines the ministry of works and transport’s aspirations for improving service delivery to Ugandans by reducing road crash fatalities and injuries and ensuring continued support for road safety and security.
Road safety presently involves the investigation of major crashes, the launch of road safety week, finalisation of the National Road Safety Action Plan, the printing of road safety material, the inspection of the issuance of licenses, and the monitoring of driving schools.
While addressing a meeting organized by the Center for Policy Analysis (CEPA) and advocating for more financing of road safety interventions, Robert Kasolo (Iki-IKI county, Budaka district), the vice chairperson of the Parliament Physical Infrastructure Committee, said:
“The sector for Road Safety Campaign aimed at raising awareness against road accidents under the Ministry of Works and Transport was allocated Sh600 million in the budget framework papers (BFP) for the financial year 2023/2024, their budget was Sh26 billion, which frustrates the campaigns.”
He added, “If the government does not consider the rate at which people are dying in road clashes annually, the country’s dream of reaching middle-income status is doomed to fail.”
CEPA is a regional non-profit policy research think tank that seeks to bridge the gap between research, policy, and practice to influence change and development in the public policy-making process through research, innovation, and critical analysis.
Godfrey Mwesigye, the CEPA manager for research and documentation, said, “According to research it indicates that government spends at least over sh13m for treatment of each car crash accident adding that road crashes cost the government to a tune of 5 percent annual Gross Domestic Product, GDP about sh17trillion annually.”
He added that road crash victims spend an average of 14 days in the intensive care units of different government referral hospitals and later come back for reviews.
Mwesigye said the money that could have been used for other developmental ventures in communities is spent on the medical treatment of patients in government hospitals.
Tonny Ayoo (Kwania County) the Vice-chairperson Parliamentary committee on Road Safety said in 2022, from January to September, a total of 3,256 died, in 2021 a total of 4, 159, in 2020 3,663, in 2019 a total of 3,880, while in 2018 3,689 died.
Tororo Woman MP Sarah Achieng Opendi said that matters of road safety have not been given the necessary attention by the executive.
“I was in the cabinet, and I must tell you the truth, which is that we have not prioritized road safety in this country,” she said.
Fatalities by road user group (Source Police)
Motorcyclists
2019 – 1,064
2020 – 1,146
2021 – 1,390
2022 – 1,021 from January to September.
Pedestrians
2019 – 1,485
2020 – 1,258
2021 – 1,384
2022 – 1,100 from January to September.