The leadership of Nyendo-Mukungwe Division in Masaka City is facing challenges in developing standard community access roads, as residents refuse to surrender portions of their land for road projects.

The resistance is particularly strong in the parishes that were incorporated into Masaka City in 2020 when its boundaries were expanded beyond the former Masaka Municipal Council.

This expansion was a key requirement for Masaka’s elevation to city status.

According to Mugagga Matovu, the Division Civil Engineer, many of these new parishes were not properly guided by physical planning regulations before their incorporation, leading to poorly developed infrastructure.

Some of the affected parishes include Matanga, Kibisi, Ssamaliya, Kasanje, Katwadde, Bulayi, Bugabira, and Luzinga wards, which were previously part of Mukungwe Sub-county in Masaka District.

Matovu explains that the division is struggling to establish a proper network of access roads due to the unplanned nature of these areas, where houses have been built too close together.

Residents remain unwilling to offer portions of their land to expand existing pathways to meet the required road standards.

Michael Mulindwa Nnakumusana, the Chairperson of Nyendo-Mukungwe Division, acknowledges the difficulty in persuading residents to voluntarily give up land for road construction.

He notes that while road development is essential for improved accessibility and service delivery, many community members are reluctant to cooperate.

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