I was shocked when I read in the Daily Monitor of April 8, 2013 that Bunyoro sub-region would have an airport, a railway line from Pakwatch to Kasese and a university of petroleum studies come 2017.

I was shocked further that Dr Gafabusa Iguru, the cultural leader of the area, had lauded the government offer which he said is bound to improve the livelihoods of his subjects. How sensible are such offers in the lives of impoverished people? Let me take the example of rural women who contribute 60-70 per cent to the economy and their transport needs. Clearly, the main means of transport used is walking and nothing else.

They walk to forests to get firewood, to fetch water, walk to clinics, carry agricultural produce on their heads and walk to markets--they walk everywhere. The bicycles, where they exist, are owned mainly by men. Women are prevented by local cultures to ride bicycles and those who dare are frowned upon by the communities.

Given the above scenario, would it not be sensible to do two things. First, encourage the use of bicycles by all, including women for the following reason. First, they are faster than walking and therefore save time needed for agriculture and educating children. They are also affordable, especially if initiative such as the National Agricultural Advisory Services (Naads), which collapsed, integrated them into their planning.

A wider usage of bicycles would lead to improvement in community welfare. Finally, they are environmentally friendly which, would add to government’s struggle to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

Secondly, road designers working in collaboration with local people ought to shift their attention to construction of roads and foot paths that facilitate fast movement in rural areas.

What bothers me is why economists and development planners fail to see simple truths in the lives of the people living in poverty and instead go for irrelevant and costly projects such as railway lines and airports.
The challenge for government is to undertake first things first and the rest later. Fight cultural attitudes which prevent women from riding bicycles and make them cheaply available for everybody in order to boost local economies to reduce poverty and underdevelopment.

Beatrice Adongo, member of Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in Uganda