The National Resistance Movement (NRM) Secretray General , Mrs. Justine Lumumba Kasule , has publically apologized to Ugandan travelers who slept in taxi and bus parks after getting stranded due to government’s poor coordination and management of the taxi registration exercise.
While appearing on the Capital Gang radio program, the combative NRM Secretary General said that it was unacceptable for Ugandans to suffer due to government’s poor planning and excution of the on going taxi registration exercise to streamline public transport in and around Kampala City .
It was expected that after the partial lifting of the 75 day lockdown by President Yoweri Museveni who announced the re-opening of public transport people who were caught up in Kampala would move freely back to their respective home areas . However, many commuters did not make it due to lack of taxis and the need to beat the curfew at 7:00 pm and ended up spending the night in the New Taxi Park.
While apologizing to the stranded commuters , Lumumba said that the matter would be discussed in cabinet on Monday to come up with a lasting solution to the confusion that has been created where taxis that operate from up-country are also required to be registered by KCCA.
The Minister of Kampala City and Metropolitan ,Ms. Among Betty Ongom , recently announced several new measures that were intended to streamline the KCBD public transport system .
Among the measures ,government is introducing ,include bodaboda free zones and gazetting boda boda stages . The Minister said that with effect from may 29, 2020 all taxi operators will be required to register and be assigned parks, stages and routes from where they will operate with a special temporary route charts that will be issued by the Ministry of Works and Transport .
Boda boda operations will be limited in the Kampala Central Business District (KCBD) while taxis will be assigned specific routes to operate according to new measures introduced by government to streamline public transport in the city ahead of the partial lifting the nation-wide lock down due to the covid -19 pandemic . Meanwhile , taxi operators adjusted taxi fares within Kampala Metropolitan and surrounding Areas.
