The State Minister in charge of Transport in the Ministry of Works and Transport, Musa Ecweru has commended Nile Breweries Limited for actively promoting road safety in Uganda through their recently launched Ondaba campaign.
While launching the National Road Safety Week’s activities at the UNRA grounds in Kyambogo Ecweru noted that for Uganda to achieve its national road safety plans road safety stakeholders have a duty to organize the industry, sensitize the riders, train and ensure that they have all the statutory requirements to operate.
“I am glad to see NBL being part of the Road Safety Week. They have on several occasions emphasized the need for responsible drinking through their smart or responsible drinking messages such as don’t drink and drive, in addition, they have gone an extra mile to actively participate in a road safety campaign called Ondaba to create awareness on road accidents, I applaud them for those efforts,” he said.
This year’s road safety week is focusing Boda-Boda safety at the center of this year’s National Road Safety Campaign under the same “Together for boda-boda Safety”.
The national road safety week is an annual event to raise awareness about road safety and promote steps that everyone can take to stop needless deaths and injuries each year.
This year’s activities include an awareness walk, training, and sensitization of boda-boda riders, pedestrian /zebra crossing painting as well as visiting accident victims in hospitals.
According to Winston Katushabe, the Commissioner for Road Safety at the Ministry of Works and Transport the decision to focus on creating awareness of the safety of boda-bodas arose out of a growing number of road crashes involving motorcyclists and motorcycle passengers.
According to the annual Traffic Police report for 2021, out of the 4,159 people killed 1,390 were motorcyclists, this number forms the highest number of road user groups killed.
Nile Breweries has been running a road safety campaign dubbed ‘Ondaba’, Mind Your Life collaboration with Consult Africa Usalama, the Ministry of Works and Transport, Uganda National Roads Authority, the Emergency Medical Services department at the Ministry of Health, the Uganda Police and Orthopaedic Society of Uganda since August 2022.
The campaign was officially launched on November, 18, 2022 at Mpigi Health Centre.
Launched against the backdrop of the recent increase in road carnage, the Ondaba road safety campaign has been raising awareness on road safety, support enforcement, and strengthen post-crash care interventions across the country, particularly along the Kampala-Masaka Highway, which has been identified to have a high fatality rate.
As part of the campaign, NBL refurbished and equipped the accident and emergency unit at the Mpigi health centre and donated two shelters to traffic Police.
NBL also trained and sensitized boda-boda riders at the Mpigi hospital boda boda stage.
These were also given reflective jackets.