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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Resident City Commissioners (RCCs) in Kampala have decided that they will not wait for Kampala Capital City Authority-(KCCA) to draft an ordinance to regulate the Boda Boda Industry to kick-start registration of riders.
RCCs, who are also the Chairpersons of Division Security Committees, say that they agreed with the National Security Council to start the registration of Boda bodas riders pending the introduction of the KCCA Ordinance.
Speaking at the government-owned Uganda Media Center, Herbert Anderson Buroora, the Lubaga Deputy RCC, who also represented the City RCC, said that they decided to use the National Security Council Act 2000 to register Boda Bodas so as to regulate their operations.
He says that the KCCA ordinance may delay yet there is a need to organize Boda bodas. The Ministry of Works and Transport, KCCA, the RCC and the Uganda Driving Licensing Agency started registering Boda bodas last month at the Kiira Police Station Ground in Bukoto.
Buroora says that over 5000 Boda bodas from Central and Nakawa Divisions have been registered, subjected to medical tests and trained in best road practices. He says that they will move the exercise to Lubaga, Kawempe and Makindye following a roadmap yet to be released by the respective division security Committees.
There have been opposing voices from political leaders in Kampala referring to the exercise as illegal. The City Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago and several KCCA Councilors have openly opposed the exercise, they say is being done without an enabling law and without clear directions.
Kassim Komugisha, Deputy Nakawa RCC says that it’s important to have Boda bodas registered to differentiate business people from private people using motorcycles.
He explained that some criminals have taken refuge in the Boda boda Industry where they committed atrocities against Ugandans. He cited an example of prominent people like the late Deputy Inspector of Police Andrew Felix Kaweesa and prosecutor Joan Kagezi who were shot dead by people riding motorcycles.
Komugisha says registration eases security work since Boda boda riders shall be well traced and differentiated from other riders. He emphasized that there is a need to secure the populace, which cannot wait for an ordinance that could take years to be concluded and operationalized.
He says that decentralized registration at the different divisions shall start after the Easter Holiday ending on Monday 18th April 2022. He says everyone will lay registration guidelines, which may include registration being carried out at the Parish level.
The Lubaga Division Deputy RCC, Anderson Buroora also denied allegations that the exercise was being used to extort money from Boda boda riders. The riders pay 60,000 Shillings, which included Shillings 10,000 for medical tests and Shillings 50,000 for five days of training that lasts two hours daily.
Buroora urged all riders to embrace the exercise, warning that in future, any rider who isn’t registered and hence has no stage of origin shall not be allowed to continue operating. He says they are Implementation the program as they learn the best way to handle it.
After registration, the government shall gazette Boda boda stages and ensure that all riders have uniforms with security features for easy identification. This is not the first attempt to register Boda bodas. Previous efforts have been opposed by some politicians and sections of Boda Bodas riders.
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