Government has announced a two-month window, during which it will inspect all Sinotrucks in Greater Kampala, which includes Kampala, Wakiso, Mukono, and parts of Mpigi and Kayunga, warning to impound those that fail to comply with the directive.
The Commissioner for Transport Regulation and Safety in the Ministry of Works, Mr Winstone Katushabe, says enforcement of the inspection will be preceded by next week’s meeting between his ministry, Sinotrucks owners and police.
‘All Sinotrucks in Greater Kampala are to undergo mandatory inspection within 60 days, while all drivers must be accredited to establish who they are. Their drivers must be vetted like bus drivers,’ Mr Katushabe said on Wednesday, warning: ‘Sinotrucks that will not have been inspected will be impounded.
He added: ‘We have scheduled a meeting with all owners and police have been asked to attend, so that there is no congestion when the exercise is rolled out. After Greater Kampala, the exercise will be rolled out to all areas.’
According to Mr Katushabe, operations will later shift to taxi drivers, boda boda riders, and car bonds, who will specifically be tasked to explain why issuing number plates is delayed, with a plan to have the time taken to register vehicles reduced from eight hours to an hour.
Justification
Mr Apollo Kashanku, the Assistant Commissioner in-charge of Road Transport Regulation and Safety, who has been charged with spearheading the enforcement, says they have a concern with Sinotrucks, which he said are ‘accident-prone’ and carry a lot of tonnage because they are very heavy.
‘We understand that some countries are not comfortable with these Sinotrucks on the road; so, we want to study the problem further, and also to focus on them and see why they are causing accidents. Are the drivers well trained? Do they know how to operate these vehicles?
‘Because they are not normal vehicles, but heavy-load vehicles. Then, secondly, are the vehicles in good working condition? Do they have good brakes that support that kind of load? So, we want to focus on them because apparently, one in every five accidents involves Sinotrucks.’
Sinotrucks are heavy-duty trucks manufactured in China; however, in Uganda, a growing demand for construction and logistics equipment has created a robust need to support the transportation of materials and equipment.
Most recently, on Monday, at least 14 people perished in a road crash involving a taxi and a Sinotruck, which was transporting sand at Lwera Swamp along the Kampala-Masaka Highway in Kalungu District.
Greater Masaka Regional Police spokesperson, Twaha Kasirye, confirmed the death on the spot of all14 occupants of the ill-fated taxi, while four other victims, including two from each vehicle, sustained injuries and were rushed to Masaka Regional Referral Hospital for treatment.
Mr Frank Agaba, 54, says he has driven a Sinotruck before, but notes that they have ‘gearbox issues’, and ‘always fail to ascend’, leading to serious accidents. ‘They are also overloaded, and can’t be compared to, say, the Isuzu or three axle trucks (Magulu Kumi),’
The development follows an impromptu operation by the Ministry of Works, Directorate of Police and Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) at Namirembe Road Bus Terminal in Kampala, where the team uncovered a laundry list of issues, with its management fanning ignorance.
Some unsettling confirmation was that a big portion of the park had been taken up by cargo trucks, and not the buses for which the facility was primarily licensed, and there were more buses (six) than what licences provided for (three).
Mr Katushabe said they have held a meeting with the leadership of KCCA, and agreed that buses only load passengers in gazetted parks, not ‘gazetted garages’, and that the impromptu operation, including another held earlier at Kisenyi Bus Terminal, followed several complaints from the general public.
At Kisenyi Bus Terminal, about three of the buses that were sampled were found noncompliant for route charts and passenger service vehicles (PSVs), among other statutory requirements, while a number of brokers were found fighting for passengers.
The operation at Kisenyi Bus Terminal further revealed persistent lapses in the transport sector, including the issuance of fake tickets allegedly by the elusive brokers, prompting a directive from Mr Katushabe that every bus company should have uniformed guides.
Mr Saturday Muhwezi, the General Manager of Kisenyi Bus Terminal, said they have set up a seven-member committee that will see two uniformed guides allocated to each bus to curb the errant brokers.