The National Economic Empowerment Dialogue (NEED) president Joseph Kabuleta Kizza has condemned Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and the Ministry of Works and Transport over their motive of kicking boda boda cyclists out of Kampala Central Business District.
Kabuleta says the management of KCCA has failed to execute its major roles like working on city roads which are full of potholes but it’s busy concentrating on boda bodas which are the least of its problems.
“KCCA please stop behaving as if Kampala is a very big and World class city, like it’s so clean, that boda boda riders are the ones making it dirty. Your city is not good. Potholes are all over, you have failed to work on the roads but you behave as if boda bodas are the biggest problem of Kampala,” the former presidential candidate told journalists during NEED’s weekly press conference held at the political movement’s headquarters in Kampala on Monday.
Kabuleta further noted that by subjecting them to compulsory mental tests and harsh working conditions, KCCA wants to competely do away with boda bodas from the city centre while pretending that they are streamlining the business inorder to create sanity in Kampala.
“I want to tell you that most people who are in Boda bodas where first chased from their initial jobs. Those people had their own jobs elsewhere but government curtailed them so they were left with no choice apart from joining the boda boda business,” he added.
Kabuleta’s remarks comes hot on the heels of government’s move to regulate the boda boda business in Kampala.
Early this year, the State Minister for Kampala and Metropolitan Affairs, Kabuye Kyofatogabye said that all boda boda riders operating in Kampala and the Metropolitan were required to register through the systems that shall be put in place by Resident City Commissioners, their Deputies, Resident District commissioners and Municipal leaders.
Kabuye told journalists at Uganda Media Centre that riders shall be identified by their stages to be gazetted by council authorities, and Kampala Capital City Authority-KCCA for the case of Kampala.
In July 2020, KCCA published a list of 579 stages the cabinet had approved for boda bodas in the five divisions of Kampala. Rubaga division was allocated 179 stages, Nakawa 146, Makindye 136, Kawempe 89 and Central division 32 stages.
Minister Kyofatogabye also said riders shall be given uniforms depending on their division of operation.
Kyofatogabye noted that only registered boda boda riders shall be allowed to operate in Kampala. Any unregistered rider who comes into Kampala risks being arrested. Kabuye said the climax of organizing the boda boda industry will be them paying road user fees whose amount is yet to be agreed upon.
In March 2022, the Ministry of Works and Transport in partnership with KCCA and the police embarked on training boda boda riders in traffic laws.
According to the ministry, the training is aimed at curbing road accidents in the Kampala Metropolitan area.
The ministry also revealed that boda boda riders participating in the training would undergo mental check-up.
“Some [riders] may be addicted to drugs and alcohol, among other health conditions. That is why we are also focusing on the mental aspect so that those found with health issues are helped to deal with them and be able to do business while in good shape,” Ronald Nkata, a trainer from Uganda Standards Driving Agency, said.
While addressing journalists at the official launch of the training in Kampala, Nkata revealed that about the 120,000 riders will undergo a six-month training.
He said the training focused on highway code of conduct, road traffic signs, hazard perception and positive attitude, among others.
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