The Speaker of Parliament Annet Anita Among wants government to install tough penalties on the roads to ensure that road carnage is brought down.
The Speaker was delivering an address to open today’s plenary when she made the suggestions.
According to the Speaker, a number of accidents on the roads today are happening due to the lack of implementation of the Road Act 2009, which gives the government enough power to administer a number of punishments that would otherwise deter future road accidents.
She pointed out the case of cars that break down on the roads and stay there for more than six (6) hours, hampering movements and causing accidents.
“If we implemented the Road Act, 2019 to the letter then we would not be having all these problems. I want to urge the Minister to implement the law, especially Section 58, to tow those vehicles that break down on the road,” she said
She also tasked the government to explain why there are many parked cars along roads in Uganda yet section 59 of the Road Act 2019 empowers the government to tow away such vehicles within 2 hours on Urban roads and 6 hours on rural roads.
The Act also spells vehicle owners a jail term of 4 ( four) years or pay a fine of Shs1,920,000 or both.
Kalungu West legislator Joseph Gonzaga Ssewungu also wondered why the government has not yet cracked the whip on vehicle owners whose cars break down on the roads and they stay there for a long time
“It's very funny that a vehicle (trailer) breaks down on the road then the owner goes to Nairobi to get spare parts, he takes a whole week when the vehicle is there,” he said.
The comments from the House come just days after businessman Apollo Nyegamehe alias Aponye was claimed by an accident in which his car hit a stationed truck in Itojo, Ntungamo District.