Museveni yet to direct KCCA on taxi fees
Kampala taxi owners have not yet started paying the reduced fee as ordered by President Museveni, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has revealed.
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The KCCA deputy Executive Director Sam Sserunkuma said the authority is waiting for a written communication from the president to effect collection of reduced fee for commuter matatus plying Kampala roads.
In a November meeting at State House, President Museveni ordered reduction of Kampala commuter taxis fee from Shs 1.4 million to Shs 700,000 and a capped the fee of commuter taxis operating outside Kampala at Shs 500,000.
This directive halved the projected KCCA revenue from commuter matatus. The Authority had projected to collect Shs 26 billion from matatu operators this financial year which is projected to reduce to Uganda Shs 13 billion.
"We have not started collecting this fees and we are waiting for written guidance because there is already a law - the commercial road users law to collect these fees which was scrapped in that meeting. We are still waiting for guidance from State House to start collecting this fee. We are supposed to have started collecting this fee effective January," Sserunkuma said.
KCCA said the fees collected from Kampala road commercial users are meant to provide services such as construction and maintenance of roads and pavements, maintenance of drainage and solid waste management, installation of traffic lights or signals and installation of road furniture or signage.
Other services include; street lighting, management of bus and taxi stations, establishment of bus and taxi stages and stops, establishment of street parking and maintenance of law and order.
Ready to pay
Mustapha Mayambala, the chairperson of Uganda Transporters Development Agency (UTRADA) said commuter taxi operators are ready to pay at any time. He said the taxi operators can pay as late as August or December 2018 because what is required is payment before end of the year.
"We pay once in every year. Arresting taxi defaulters can only begin in January 2019. There is no way KCCA can identify a defaulter now," he said.
Mayambala said leaders of taxi operators wrote to Prime Minister Rugunda in December requesting for update on instrument that will guide this new arrangement but they have not got a response.
