Lukwago blames Museveni for taxi operators' strikes

Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago has blamed President Museveni for the on and off taxi operators’ strikes.

Early this week, the taxi operators went on strike over levied taxes of 120,000 every month.

Fortunately, while marching along Entebbe Road, they came face to face with President Museveni's envoy, which stopped.

Museveni assured them that he will handle their issues.

“Mr Museveni is responsible for this confusion and it should stop. He should let us the leaders in Kampala take decisions on behalf of the people who elected us. It is a simple thing.  Let him refer the people affected in the city to KCCA headed by the Lord Mayor,”Lukwago said.

The president issued a directive that all daily and monthly taxi levies be stopped.

However, Lukwago accused the KCCA executive director Jennifer Musisi and Beti Kamya, the Minister for KCCA for blackmailing the president to raise the taxes claiming that the city is in total crisis.

“Time and again we have been told we are under central government. The money is spent on the Age limit campaigns, by the Kutesa’s to bribe and the city is now rotting,”  Lukwago said.

“Ms Jennifer and Kamya went to president and told him that he had caused a crisis in KCCA saying that they had no revenue. Jennifer went ahead and blackmailed the man (Museveni) that if he doesn’t lift the ban on the collection of taxi levies, we are closing down KCCA and then the man (Museveni) gave them a go ahead to lift the ban.”

In a letter dated November 10, Musisi wrote to Kamya saying funding challenges were affecting service delivery at KCCA. The city authority registered a deficit of Shs 6 billion in terms of lost revenue as a result of not levying monthly fees on taxi operators.

“Which city is this where you scrap only one revenue source and there is a crisis? This Means that KCCA is surviving on taxis,” Lukwago said.

Lukwago expressed his dissatisfaction over the brutality towards the people in the city.

“KCCA is now like police, people are beaten up every now and then and this must stop. I pass resolutions but they are never implemented by the ED. I will have to take this issue to the authority," Lukwago said.

Lukwago however cautioned the taxi drivers not to be diverted to support the Age limit bill as they ask the President to stick to the order he issued in July this year.