Residents in Ntungamo District are mobilising resources through their Whatsapp group ‘Rushenyi New Era,’  for the construction of community roads.
On Tuesday, the group commissioned the construction of a five-kilometre road section of Kyamutera-Mugyera, which links Rugarama to Nyarushanje sub-county in Rukungiri District.
An eight-kilometre road section of Byasha Road linking Rubaare Town Council and Rubaare Sub-county has also been opened up at a cost of Shs50m, while two multi-million bridges of Kyenjubu and Karuruma are under construction by Uganda National Roads Authority and the Ministry of Agriculture, courtesy of the group’s lobbying.
 The WhatsApp group members, who include businessmen, government employees, civil society, activists and politicians, say the roads in Rushenyi County are in a sorry state.
They have also reached out to people in the diaspora for support.
The drive, which started in 2017, is aimed at improving roads to enhance production and transportation of goods to the market.
“We acknowledge that the leadership may not perform to our expectations and at times the leaders are overstretched by community demands or their priorities are different, the reason we came up as key stakeholders to develop our villages. We want to eliminate the begging tendencies by reducing vulnerabilities,” Mr Joshua Kareire, one of the group coordinators, says.
He says proper infrastructure in villages, enhances trade and access to health services.
“What these locals want for now are upgraded roads where they can effectively use bicycles, motorcycles or lorries without major breakdowns,” Mr Kareire adds.
Rushenyi County has six sub-counties, 43 parishes and 215 villages.  Mr John Katengye, a resident of Byasha, says the new road has been a dream since 1989.
 
The Rugarama Sub-county councillor, Mr Edison Muhwezi, says they have also started mobilising resources through churches and village meetings to support the group activities. He tasked the locals to accept  the projects.
The Rushenyi County Member of Parliament, Ms Naome Kabasharira, who is one of the key leaders of the group, says leadership roles must change to mobilising resources.
She says people need to play an important role in their communities if they are to end the burden of asking for favours.
“As a group, our strategy is to have our areas develop. As leaders, our role here is to identify the challenges and mobilise those who can solve them. I think this should be cardinal to the current leadership. People have resources but they can’t contribute to their area development,” she says.
The group has also been fundamental in developing schools and health infrastructure.