By Bondry Kilenga
Heavy rains have ravaged the Lopei to Matany road in Napak district delaying patients from Abim and Kotido districts seeking emergency health services in Matany Hospital.
According to the road users, the rains have made the road nearly impassable and flooded the bridge at Omaniman forcing those seeking services to go via Moroto.
William Okot Lokiru an ambulance driver at Kotido General Hospital says the poor state of the road has increased his hours of travel from one and half hours to about 3 hours to the hospital.
Jeremy Otema a Boda Boda from Abim district whom our reporter found stranded at Omaniman Bridge says the poor state of the road has forced them to double their transport fares heaping more burden on patients.
Otema explained that they are sometimes forced to risk carrying the patients across the flooded bridge because some of them can’t meet the transport fares through Moroto.
John Paul Kodet the Napak district Chairperson told our reporter that several UNRA roads in the district are in a sorry state due to the heavy rains adding that the district authorities lodged a complaint to the UNRA engineers who are currently working on the Lokopo – Apeitoli and Moroto –Sinyu roads.
Kodet says that though the UNRA engineers are on the ground trying to work on the roads, their efforts are being frustrated by the heavy down pours.
Efforts to get comments from the UNRA Moroto engineer were futile as his know telephone contacts went unanswered.
