Then there is a Coup....or Instability....but even where it is vigilant, but takes long to act, or acts indecisively, the power built by that corruption can neutralise any efforts to deal with it. So what you get is PARALYSIS and STATE CAPTURE!
See, CORRUPTION is not the same. It can be Classified depending on the NATURE(how&where it occurs) and MAGNITUDE(scale&impact). In the case of GRAND CORRUPTION like what we are seeing, which goes beyond embezzlement, bribery, money laundering, nepotism......to involve PATRONAGE NETWORKS; POLITICAL POWER POSITIONING; EXTERNAL LINKS, etc, then, it results in STATE INSTABILITY OR CAPTURE. Because it's genesis is linked to AQUISITION OF POLITICAL POWER, OR USE IT TO DEFEND ITSELF... Either way, the end result is the same, INSTABILITY, OR FALL OF GOVERNMENT, OR STATE CAPTURE.
Crispy. Cool morning at the Istanbul Bomonti. HILTON Hotel after successful meetings with the President of TABA a formidable association of Various Business groups in Turkey. @BusogaTourism
Around 2015, when the World Bank was encouraging the Ministry to establish a Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (MATA) as part of the broader BRT agenda, I attended a World Bank workshop in Addis Ababa with a colleague who has since left the Ministry. One statement from the facilitators has stayed with me ever since: “You cannot engineer yourself out of traffic congestion.”
He explained that building more roads, widening highways, or constructing flyovers cannot, on their own, solve congestion. Congestion is not simply a road‑capacity problem. It is fundamentally a behavioural, economic, land‑use, and road‑management problem. Engineering interventions treat the symptoms, not the underlying causes.
He highlighted several issues that illustrate this point:
Induced or Latent Demand: Whenever road capacity is increased, more people choose to drive because the road initially feels faster. Over time, the new lanes fill up and congestion returns. This pattern is well‑documented globally. He gave the example of Seoul, South Korea — a city I had visited in 2007 and seen the phenomenon firsthand.
Kampala’s Radial Network: Kampala’s road network funnels traffic from Entebbe, Masaka, Jinja, Hoima, and Gayaza into a very small CBD core. Even with flyovers, all these streams still converge at the same point. A flyover may remove conflict at one junction, but it does not reduce the volume entering the city.
Land‑use Patterns: Most jobs, services, and government offices are concentrated in the CBD. This creates strong tidal flows: everyone enters the city in the morning and leaves in the evening. Flyovers cannot change the distribution of demand. Kampala continues to grow inward rather than outward, intensifying pressure on the same limited space.
The Geometry Problem: In dense cities, the real bottleneck is rarely the roads themselves. It is the intersections, off‑ramps, and city streets. You can build a 12‑lane highway/road but if all those vehicles must eventually exit onto a 2‑lane urban road with traffic lights, you have simply created a faster way to reach a stationary queue.
Weak Last‑mile Connectivity: Even when trunk roads are improved, the feeder roads in suburbs such as Ntinda, Najjera, Kisaasi, Makindye, Nansana, and Kireka remain narrow, unpaved, or poorly managed. Congestion simply shifts from the improved section to the next choke point.
Other Systemic Factors: Land‑use planning, enforcement, public transport quality, roadside activity, and general road management all influence congestion. Without addressing these, engineering solutions alone cannot deliver lasting relief.
Summary
The lesson from that workshop from the Kampala’s live in or work in is clear: you cannot build your way out of congestion. Sustainable mobility requires a combination of engineering, planning, enforcement, behavioural change, and institutional reform.
ADDING LANES TO FIX TRAFFIC CONGESTATION IS AKIN TO LOOSENING YOUR BELT TO CURE OBESITY. IT ADRESSES THE SYMPTOM (TIGHTNESS) WITHOUT FIXING THE CAUSE.
Last year, @BikersUganda won the CSR award. Entries are open for the #AutoShowKla2025 CSR Award.
Simply email:
1. Photos of the initiative
2. A short video while at it
3. A brief write up about it
To: [email protected]
Deadline: 28th June, 2025
@ChrisExcel102 Those budget things mean little on the battlefield on the ground… ask the us in Vietnam and Afghanistan, ask Russia in Afghanistan and Vietnam
@MKatungi This whole process right from the beginning has shown a great deal of incompetence and the disability to take responsibility by the ED, he should have personally taken the decision to resign