Amuru truck drivers strike over bad road

Amuru-Truck drivers and owners plying the Paboo Apaa-Adjumani road have Tuesday morning lodged a three day strike, commencing t Tuesday to Thursday over poor state of roads.

The strike follows the collapse of Okoli Bridge last week leaving large potholes on the road.

Justine Ocen a truck driver, who plies Adjumani route, identifies the most affected areas on the road to be between Pabo trading center to Ayugi farm stretching two and half kilometers and from Ayugi farm to Ober Abic trading center as well as collapsed Okoli Bridge.

He says the bad road is causing break down on their vehicles and it’s now hard for them to access Ober Abic trading centre.

Jackson Ojara a vehicle owner says they want the district to repair the broken bridge and fill the potholes so that they can resume business.

“This is the only route where we earn our survival from,” Ojara says.

Ojara says they are striking for the next three days awaiting positive information from the Sub County and district on rehabilitating the road which he termed as impassable.

Amuru district LCV chairperson Michael Lakony says the district has already dispatched road equipments to rehabilitate the road from Apaa side heading to Paboo trading center through Okojo to Okoli Bridge.

Lakony blames protesting drivers and vehicle owners for continuous transportation of illegal charcoal and logs even after the district pronounced those activities illegal.

Meanwhile, the Pabbo Sub County LCIII chairperson, Christopher Odongkara says an agreement was reached at during a meeting with the protestors.

Odongkara says they have written to the district so that the works department assesses the amount of marrum needed to fill the potholes as well as the fuel needed to complete the work.

Odongkara, speaking to our reporter says, “We expecting a team from the works department in the next two days to carry out the assessment.”

The road in question links Amuru district to Adjumani district via Apaa trading center.