Ethiopia’s achievement in enhancing access to all-weather roads is well recognised. A country that has once been identified by inaccessibility is now often mentioned as one of the high achievers in the global agenda of universalising access to roads. The total length of road networks has, for instance, reached a historic high of 85,966Km. This remarkable achievement is underpinned with huge public investment outlay. Development of the national road network has been one of the major recipients of government budget for over 15 years now. A part of the road development program, the Universal Rural Road Access Program (URRAP) has of late been a focus of inconsistencies. A program provided with a total budgetary outlay of 26b Br in the Growth & Transformation Plan (GTP), the URRAP is a flagship intervention that the government envisions to serve as a means of enhancing national connectivity and creating jobs. It was with this intention that the government organised graduates to form enterprises and be given with dedicated contracts. With this, the aim was to increase national construction capacity and create national champions. Yet, as it stands, the program has faced problems in both its objectives. Neither is the envisioned connectivity happening nor does the critical mass of national construction champions created. Views on where the problem lies, however, vary.
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