The Ministry of Works and Transport between the 2nd and 5th of May hosted a delegation from the Kingdom of Eswatini. Led by the Minister of Public Works and Transport, Chief Ndlaluhlaza Nhlonipho Celemusa, the delegation visited Uganda on a benchmarking visit to familiarize themselves with the establishment and mandate of the Uganda National Roads Authority and Uganda Road Fund.
Bageya Waiswa, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Works and Transport welcomed the delegation to Uganda. He cited that the two countries have a lot in common including being land locked and having road transport as the dominant means of transport.
The Minister of Public Works from the Kingdom of Eswatini, Chief Ndlaluhlaza explained that the Eswatini Government is in the process of establishing a National Roads Authority and a Road fund and therefore saw it as pertinent to benchmark with Uganda so as to appreciate what it takes to set up and operate these bodies.
“We outsource most of the works for big road projects and greatly struggle with road maintenance, we realize that we share the same problems with Uganda and thus expect that the lessons learnt here will be practical and applicable back home,” said the Minister.
Hon. Musa Ecweru, the Minister of State for Works saw off the delegation at the end of their benchmarking exercise. He commended the two government’s great bilateral relations and appreciated their choice of Uganda for the benchmarking visit. He also asked them to apply as much as possible the lessons learnt and best practices while also pointing out areas that could use improvement on the Ugandan side.
The delegation from Eswatini expressed an interest in establishing a roads authority merged as one with a road fund since their government is discouraging the establishment of more government MDAs. The delegation held intensive meetings and discussions with the leadership of UNRA and the URF to learn more about their mandates and establishments.
The team also paid a visit to crucial infrastructure such as the Entebbe Expressway and the ongoing Kampala Flyover Project.