Nabbanja grills KCCA officials over slow registration of boda bodas

KAMPALA-Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja has grilled Kampala city leadership over the poor turn-up of boda boda cyclists for the ongoing registration exercise.

About 350,000 boda boda cyclists in Kampala and Wakiso districts have been registered since August, prompting the leadership to extend the deadline to September 16, 2022.

Nabbanja expressed her dissatisfaction during a meeting held at her office, with the technical leadership of Kampala Capital City Authority [KCCA], Boda boda leadership, and political leaders, including the Minister for Kampala Affairs.

The exercise that is supposedly meant to clean up the boda boda sector in Kampala with a streamlined operational system has been bogged down with multiple political debates and counter-accusations against the different parties in and outside the sector.

Kampala Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago has always argued that an all-participatory and honest process, backed by law should be followed to streamline the transport sector in Kampala.

“Now they are registering cyclists, I hear putting them to mental check-ups and so many other conditions. Asking for log books, recommendations from DISO and PISO and…many other things, yet we had warned them that all these things would not work,” Lukwago said while talking to the Cooperator.

Kampala City Minister Hajat Minsa Kabanda said the process has not been smooth, with low turn up, which has bothered them quite much. She says the Prime Minster was not convinced with the explanations advanced in the meeting, thus calling for a changed strategy.

“We are going to back to the drawing board to do some things better beyond extending deadlines. We need everyone to participate before a decision is implemented,” Kabanda told this reporter.

Talking to this reporter, a selection of boda boda cyclists in Kampala decried the process as being so demanding, and bureaucratic with long procedures that are so time-wasting.

Golola Charles, plying his trade along Kafumbe Mukasa Road in Kampala says the demands are so much.

“They ask for the LC Letter, stage chairman’s letter, then DISO and PISO all these for what!?” He wondered.

Twinomujuni Didas of Wandegeya says he has failed to register, because he tried and the requirements were so much for him to attain, thus he gave up.

“They asked for so many things, letters of DISO and security, landlord and all these you are going to buy them. We do not have money to spend like that. Me I gave up, whatever they will decide, we shall go by,” he said amidst cheers from his colleagues at the stage.

Early this week, KCCA debated the exercise with a bill at its second reading specifying how boda boda operations would be aligned, registered, and the establishment of strategic stages.

Mid this year, Nabbanja directed the Ministry for Kampala and Metropolitan Affairs to work with KCCA, to make an inventory of all cyclists in Kampala and complete the registration process by September 1, 2022.

The process would involve demarcating stages, profiling all personnel in the industry, including allocating them codes depending on the divisions in Kampala.

https://thecooperator.news/mixed-reactions-as-boda-bodas-allowed-to-resume-passenger-transport/

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