Museveni Pledges Western Uganda Road Works, Urges Residents to Fight Poverty

What the report says

President Yoweri Museveni said the government plans to improve several major road links in Greater Ankole, including the Bwizibwera–Nyakambu–Nsiika–Nyakashaka–Nyakabirizi corridor, the Mbarara–Ishaka highway and a route connecting Kabwohe, Bugongi, Kitagata and Kabira toward Rukungiri. He made the remarks at a thanksgiving ceremony for Internal Affairs Minister Ephraim Kamuntu in Sheema District on Saturday, according to Nile Post.

Museveni also used the event to push residents to focus on wealth creation rather than waiting for better roads before improving their livelihoods. He urged households to prioritize commercial farming, take part in government income programs such as the Parish Development Model and Emyooga, and adopt measures like irrigation, pasture management and fertilizer use to raise agricultural output. His message linked infrastructure improvement with broader efforts to reduce poverty in western Uganda.

The article says the president did not give a start date for the road works. It also notes that the Mbarara–Ishaka project appears in the National Planning Authority’s Fourth National Development Plan for the 2025/26–2029/30 period, though the plan lists it at a pre-feasibility stage. More broadly, poor road conditions in the region remain a concern because they can slow transport and raise the cost of moving farm produce to market.