KAMPALA: President Yoweri Museveni has revealed that government through the Ministry of Works and Transport will increase financing of road safety campaigns to reduce the road carnage across the country.
The funding according to the president, is to take care of infrastructure development like; pedestrian facilities, law enforcement capacity, education campaigns and emergency medical services among others.
Statistics indicate that over 1.2m people die annually in boda-boda related accidents, 3,757 in car crashes, and two school going children lose their lives due to road accidents.
“Road safety is a necessity. I therefore urge all the stakeholders; the civil society, religious leaders, private sector, transporters, and the general public to amplify the message on road safety to an end to fatalities and injuries,” he said.
Museveni made the remarks in a speech delivered by the Vice President Maj. (Rtd) Jessica Alupo at the ongoing Road Safety Conference at Speke Resort Munyonyo today May 14, 2025.
The conference organized under the theme, “Road safety for Socio-Economic Transformation” aims to road promote safety and responsibility in Uganda’s transport sector through education, advocacy, and support services.
The president reminded the country that when the NRM government captured power, in 1986, Uganda’s road network was in disrepair, with only 1,200 kilometers of paved roads and a total classified network of about 6,800 kilometers.
He explained that this infrastructure was inadequate to support national development resonating with the Government’s prioritization of road development in the successive National Development Plans.
As a result, the Museveni said classified road network is now 159,364 km, with 7,443 km (4.7%) paved and national roads stand at 20,854 km, of which 6,107 km are paved.
He said major projects like the Kampala–Entebbe Expressway, Gulu–Atiak–Nimule Road, oil roads in the Albertine region and the Jinja Nile Bridge, have significantly improved connectivity, linking all the major towns and the border points. These roads support internal trade and integration under frameworks such as the EAC and COMESA.
Museveni, however, sadly noted that with increased accessibility, the road accidents have also increased, resulting in loss of lives and injuries on the account of inadequate safety awareness, and the indiscipline of some drivers.
It is estimated that government spends approximately Sh86.2b annually, on road injury treatments. The families are also spending approximately Sh7m to treat severe injuries—especially from bodaboda crashes.
In order to reverse this bad situation, the president said it is important to prioritise awareness campaigns aimed at promoting responsible road use.
He told the country that the NRM has led a number of successful campaigns, to save lives, such as the Immunisation campaign against the killer diseases; the campaign against HIV/AIDS, the campaigns against Malaria, Ebola, COVID-19, etc.
Therefore, it is possible to reduce road carnages by carrying out mass sensitization campaigns and implementing the traffic rules and regulations the president said.
He stressed that under the National Road Safety Action Plan (2021–2026), government is aiming at reducing road fatalities and injuries by 25% by Financial Year 2026/27, thus re-affirming the government’s commitment to reducing road crash deaths and serious injuries by 50% by 2030.
The plan targets five key areas of action: road safety management, safer roads, safer vehicles, safer road users and post-crash response. Government also committed to increasing financing for road safety.
He applauded Ministry of Works and Transport for taking the lead in road safety management and coordination and also commended all stakeholders especially Road Safety Advocacy Coalition Uganda (ROSACU), for partnering with government in promoting road safety.
“Your advocacy, research and public engagement have helped shape important reforms like the Transport and Logistics Policy and National Road Safety Action Plan,” he said. He pledged Government’s continued collaborating with all stakeholders to ensure that all road users travel safely.
The vice president in her words commended Gen. Katumba Wamala, the Minister of Works and Transport for heavily getting involved in the aviation industry where he has been instrumental in efforts to boost its growth and development.
Katumba has been actively involved in promoting trade and tourism through the revival of Uganda Airlines and the establishment of new routes, including direct flights to London.
She also lauded the Gen. and the transport ministry at large for their commitment to the development of the railway transport and asked the road safety conference to also discuss the water transport development.
Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala, the minister of Works and Transport emphasized the critical need for road safety campaigns saying 14 lives are lost daily due to road crashes.
“Education , awareness, and community engagement are highlighted as essential elements in promoting road safety. I call for effective collaboration with the existing frameworks like parish development committees, school management committees and road safety committees,” the General said while launching the “guide for establishment of safe school zones for Uganda”.
The Guide supports the establishment of safe school zones which is aligned with national policies and laws such as the non-motorised transport policy and the traffic and road safety act.
It outlines the best practices in infrastructure development, traffic planning, and safety measures tailored specifically to school zones.
Gen. Katumba urged motorists to respect road signs by learning to talk to the roads as they talk to them. “Roads are designed with road signs but how many of us respecting them. The road sign is telling you to drive at 80km per hour but most cases motorists do not respect signs. Let us learn to listen to the roads as they talk to us, that’s when we shall end road carnage,”Katumba appealed.
Richard Baguma of the Road Safety Advocacy Coalition Uganda stressed that there’s an urgent need by the government to close the financing gap and implement effective, targeted interventions that will reduce road fatalities and enhance transport safety in the country.
