Examining the effectiveness of road maintenance financing in local government, a case study of Budaka district.

Abstract

This study examines the effectiveness of road maintenance financing in Local Governments in Uganda, using Budaka District Local Government as A case study. The study objectives include, examining road maintenance financing options available for local governments in Uganda, examining the challenges encountered by local governments in securing funds for maintaining the roads in Uganda and establishing possible mechanisms of improving the financing of road maintenance activities in local governments in Uganda. The study used a cross-sectional research design. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used. A sample size of 59 respondents was used in this study. Data was collected using questionnaires and interview guide. The study findings revealed that Budaka district local government maintains its road through public-private partnership, using funds in the general budget from the Central Government and sometimes gets grants for road maintenance. The main challenges facing road maintenance were that road maintenance is not a bankable project, most funders put money in quick win sectors which is not the case for road maintenance and high costs involved in road maintenance discourage financers. Lastly, the central government should finance all road maintenance projects, develop policies, rules and regulations that protect financers, the parliament should increase the local government budget for infrastructure development and the local government should build partnerships with more developed countries to help on financing maintenance of roads.