With hardly three months for the globally celebrated Christmas (festive season) approaching, Uganda’s traffic police have been put on high alert to curb road carnage, so alarming in the country.
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 by Christians around the world.
It’s an important holiday in the Christian calendar, celebrating the arrival of Jesus Christ, whom Christians believe and adore as the Only Begotten Son of God and Saviour of humanity.
The Deputy Director in charge of Traffic and Road Safety, Commissioner of Police (CP) Phillip Acaye, sounded the alarm, citing unprofessional and unpatriotic behavior among some officers that contribute to accidents.
Acaye’s concerns include selective enforcement, where wealthy and influential individuals are let off the hook, extortion, poor work attitude, subpar customer service, and misuse of traffic gadgets.
Moreover, CP Acaye says, some officers while on the road are always more focused on social media jokes and funky music on their smartphones than their duties.
To address these issues, CP Acaye now emphasizes individual accountability, shifting the focus from reprimanding supervisors to holding specific officers responsible.
Sounding theological and pastor-like, CP Philip Acaye who seems familiar with the Biblical phrase “carry your cross”, (Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34&Luke 9:23) when Jesus Christ said to his disciples, “…whoever wants to be my disciples must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me…”,shares the same message to his ‘disciples’( traffic officers).
To put it perspective of this article,CP Acaye’s message, like Jesus stressed, focuses on self-denial by letting go of personal desires and interests; sacrifice by embracing hardship and suffering for a greater purpose of serving Ugandans and road users and faithfulness by remaining loyal to their constitutional obligations, and their ethical code of conduct.
“…you either do the work, or be prepared to carry the cross, no more grilling of Regional Traffic Officers, it’s now individual accountability with effect from 1st October,2024…”the commissioner roared.
This call to action came during a one-day traffic and road safety workshop for the Busoga region, held at the Uganda Civil Service College in Jinja City.
The workshop, attended by regional traffic officers, divisional traffic officers, and personnel from Kiira (Jinja), Busoga East, and Busoga North police regions, aims to revamp traffic management.
Commentators have welcomed the message saying by holding individual officers accountable, Uganda’s traffic police strive to minimize road carnage during the festive season.
This move is part of a broader effort to address Uganda’s road safety concerns, which have been a pressing issue. With the Christmas season approaching, the police are taking proactive steps to ensure safer roads for all.
Senior Road Safety Officer from the Ministry of Works and Transport Judith Karara Natukunda who also attended described Uganda’s road safety situation as alarming.
With 3,502 deaths in 2018, 4,159 in 2021, and 4,179 in 2023, it’s clear that urgent action is needed and she called for enhanced implementation of the Global Safe System Approach (GSSA).
The Global Safe System Approach (GSSA) is a holistic framework for road safety, aiming to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries on roads worldwide.
It’s a collaborative effort by governments, international organizations, and stakeholders.
The key principles are: Safe Roads (design and maintain roads to minimize risks), Safe Speeds (manage speeds to prevent crashes and minimize harm), Safe Vehicles (ensure vehicles are crashworthy and protect occupants, Safe People (educate and protect all road users like pedestrians, riders and drivers and Post-Crash Care (provide timely, effective medical response).
The Kiira Regional Traffic Officer (RTO) SP Mabel Asingwire used the occasion to urge motorists to always adhere to speed limits and ensure they avoid drunk-driving.
“…the ongoing vigorous operations are in good faith intended to get rid of incompetent drivers and vehicles in dangerous mechanical conditions…”she appealed.
Her Busoga North counterpart SP Sharifah Naigaga encouraged all road users including the oft-stubborn boda-boda riders to always read and understand the Traffic and Road Safety (amended) Act, 2020 and the traffic regulations to avoid being caught off-guard.
SP Peninah Magambe, the RTO Busoga issued a warning to all drivers with pending (Express Penalty Scheme (EPS) tickets to clear them as soon as possible.
EPS is a system introduced by the Uganda Police Force in 2015 to streamline traffic penalty payments. The objective is to reduce corruption, increase efficiency and enhance transparency in traffic penalty payments.
Key features include standardized fines with fixed penalties for specific traffic offenses, electronic receipts that are generated upon payment and there is also an option for mobile money payments.
According to the Kiira Regional Police spokesperson SP James Mubi who provided information for this news article, other officials from the Works and Transport Ministry included James Katunguka (Road Safety) David Ruhinda (Senior Road safety under the licensing office) and Brian Matsiko attached to Uganda Driving Licensing System (UDLS).
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