After the lawyers under Uganda Law society put up a spirited fight against the sh6.million fine against anybody driving a car that has no trash can starting on April 1st, forcing NEMA to ‘clarify’ that the penalty doesn’t cover private cars, taxi and bus operators have also risen seeking to make the penalty remain a Fools’ Day joke.
After NEMA left the lawyers’ battle with its tail between the legs, it embarked on sensitizing taxi and bus operators, who are the remaining targets of the directive. But wherever NEMA representatives go, the transport operators are asking them what they are supposed to do with the rubbish that the passengers will leave in their dustbins, since there are no dumping facilities in the taxi parks and bus stations.
The personnel handling the sensitization have been passing the can (no pun intended) to Kampala Capital City Authority, saying they have agreed that it is KCCA’s responsibility to provide the collection facilities in the parks and stations.
However, the taxi and bust operators are not impressed with the explanation, and have been asking if KCCA will provide the trash collection facilities in all the upcountry destinations where they take passengers all the time. This is because the facilitators are not committing to having such understanding with other urban authorities, and even KCCA which they cite has not provided the facilities in Kampala.
The taxi and bus operators are also asking why they should be fined if a passenger throws rubbish out of their windows. So far no satisfactory answer has been given to the taxi and bus operators.
