The Minister of State for Transport, Hon. Fred Byamukama, has revealed that by close of business today, the Ministry through Uganda Police will issue penalties to bus companies found culpable in a string of road accidents recorded over the past four months.
Byamukama while addressing journalists at the Uganda Media Centre cautioned that while some may argue they are earning a living, they cannot be allowed to do so at the cost of innocent lives.
“When I stopped one bus, some people tried to protest . But how can you earn a living when you’re killing people? We can’t allow Uganda to kill people in your homes. Then the police will investigate. But on our roads, we cannot allow that to happen.
We shall continue doing it, especially for the bus people, because the bus carries many people. So today, before the day ends, we shall come up with an announcement which will not do good to other people.” he said
He further stated that road safety is non-negotiable and that punitive action will continue, especially against public transport operators who carry large numbers of people.
He has, however, attributed the recent surge in accidents not only to reckless driving, but also to deeper societal issues such as internal stress, poverty, and family conflicts, which he says are now manifesting dangerously on the roads. The minister also clarified on accusations that accidents are only as a result of poor roads with potholes.
He acknowledged that while some roads are in poor condition, the government is taking steps to address this by rationalizing the situation. The Cabinet has advised removing UNRA to gain full control over road maintenance.
He also noted that Uganda is a large country, with many roads still needing tarmacking, particularly those that are not busy and are made of marram. He explained that although the budget for road maintenance has been limited, the government is now putting more effort into improving them, including roads without potholes, where accidents still happen.
The Minister shared a personal account of witnessing an accident involving a taxi and a Pajero, with a passenger seriously injured. He questioned whether potholes were the cause, but none were found in that area. He emphasized that not all accidents are due to potholes, as careful driving can prevent accidents even on rough roads.
“I was coming this morning, I met an accident, a boda boda and someone with a pajero, they knocked one another, just in this corner.
And I was asking the traffic office, are there potholes here? They are not there. The passenger who was on the boda was seriously injured because I could see there is a lot of blood which was coming from the leg. I think he got a compound fracture.
There, you can imagine, not all accidents are attributed to potholes, because even in potholes, you can drive carefully, and you reach well.” he added
More detailed measures are expected to be announced later today, as the Ministry continues its crackdown on road carnage.
These measures follow a series of accidents mostly attributed to reckless driving on the part of bus drivers. Just last week, a bus belonging to the YY bus company was involved in a nasty crash in Buikwe that claimed four lives, left 39 people critically injured and 30 others with minor injuries.
The driver of the bus that overturned and went on fire survived the carnage.