RX Radio Presenters Fatboy and Olive Najjuma have hailed the Government's construction of the Entebbe-Kampala Expressway, saying that it's one of the best developments the country has seen.
The Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) announced that since January 8 2022 when the tolling exercise on the road started, the agency has collected 2.5 billion shillings surpassing their initial projections.
Acknowledging the four-lane highway for enabling swift movements and being time-saving, Fatboy said the development was worth celebrating.
“If you've been using the Kampala-Entebbe Expressway, I am sure you've been enjoying the smoothness and wideness of the road. You can drive to Entebbe and back to Kampala within a short period with little to no congestion. So despite the Government's flaws, we must agree that this is one of the more positive developments we've seen in the country in recent years.”
He further expressed his amazement, saying, “2.5 billion a month! In a year that's a lot of money. But the concern is what will be done with those billions, will some be used to construct infrastructure or pay the loan?”
Olive Najjuma, his co-host responded, “The money that comes from the highway tolls will be used to pay the loan and also pay for maintenance because we contracted a company that runs and maintains the tolls.”
However both noted that although the Express highway is very convenient and upto standard, many roads in the suburbs of Kampala also needed refurbishing.
Daily motorists using the Kampala-Entebbe Expressway pay between 3000 shillings to 18000 shillings while others can pay on a weekly or monthly basis.
The sums collected are to pay a loan secured from the China Exim Bank amounting to $350 million that was used to construct the 51.4 kilometer road.
The Fatboy show is hosted by James Onen aka Fatboy, Olive, Sarah and Lesham every weekday from 6am to 10am on RX Radio.