KCCA goes ahead to registers taxis amidst protest from operators

The registration of taxis by Kampala Capital City Authority-KCCA has kicked off amidst chaos and poor coordination. The operators are protesting the lack of coordination in the registration process.

In hundreds, the taxi operators converged at Old Kampala Secondary School and Kitante Primary Schools on Monday to register their taxis. However, many of them say that the process is extremely slow and tedious. By midday, only about 30 drivers had been registered according to the registration book at the registration centre.

Every driver was required to fill a registration form detailing their name, National Identity card number and KCCA City Operator Identification Number, route number and contact. They are also required to present a photocopy of the vehicle logbook, PSV tax, National Identity Card of taxi owner and driving permit of the driver.

A taxi operator from Dembe taxi park in Bwaise who only identified himself as Kaweesa, said he arrived at Old Kampala Primary School at 8am but was yet to register by midday. Lawrence Ssonko, a driver from Bunamwaya stage in new taxi park said they had spent hours in queues waiting to be registered.

A number of operators filled forms and waited with other requirements for hours to be registered. Many of them were kept at the school playground as a few would be let into the registration room. However later in the day, KCCA officials told the taxi operators at Old Kampala that they would register taxis from two stages, Mengo- Lubaga and Mulago provoking outrage from the operators.

Another taxi operator from Zana said he has been walking to town since Friday to have his taxi registered in vain. He said he was part of the group that went to City Hall for registration on Friday and turned away and on Saturday, they were told to go to Old Kampala where he was still struggling to be registered.

He met the same disappointment when he was told that he could not register.

Some operators didn’t find their stages on the list. Hajj Abdu Kabuye, a driver and chairman on Bulo stage in the Nnew taxi park and Nateete said his stage was missing on the chart and wondered how and where their stage will operate moving forward.

Mustapha Mayambala, the chairman of Uganda Transport Development Agency-UTRADA, said KCCA should have involved stage operators and taxi leaders while designing routes and allocating stages.

KCCA has now drawn a timetable and hanged it at the centres. The timetable indicates that Old Kampala Secondary School centre will be used to register taxis from New taxi park, Kisenyi park and Namirembe parka and Nateete park from 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th, 2nd, 5th, 8th, and 11th and 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th respectively.

At Kitante, taxis from USAFI, Nakawa, Namayiba and Kisenyi and Old taxi Park will be registered on 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th, 2nd, 5th, 8th, and 11th and 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th respectively.

URN