​In 2008, a reform of the institutional framework governing the national road network in Uganda promised to end decades-long neglect of this vital infrastructural asset. A commissioned study of the political economy of the reform process in 2009 was followed by the approval and implementation of a multi-donor support programme, CrossRoads.

This paper, by the authors of the 2009 study, takes a retrospective look at the changes in the sector and revisits the findings and recommendations offered six years ago. The re-study is not an evaluation of CrossRoads but it does distinguish the challenges in the sector the programme has addressed effectively from those that have not yet been tackled sufficiently. It seeks to understand the pattern of progress and stagnation over six years of reform with a view to identifying priorities for Ugandan reformers and international development agencies after CrossRoads draws to a close in December 2015.

David Booth and Frederick Golooba-Mutebi