THE ban by the Kenyan government of four-axle trucks is responsible for the fuel shortage in Uganda, clearing agents have said. The agents, operating at the Malaba border point, were on Monday meeting economic monitoring state minister Kagimu Kiwanuka at the goods shed in Malaba.
The minister was accompanied by the director of economic affairs, Noel Bisamaza, Tororo resident district commissioner Mpimbaza Hashaka and chief administrative officer Felix Esoku.
The vice-chairperson of Malaba Clearing Agents Association, Patrick Mololo, said the measure had affected fuel transporters. He said four-axle trucks could carry up to 32 tonnes, while three-axle trucks carried only 24.
“Unlike the transporters of dry cargo, reducing the axles from four to three for fuel transporters has called for redesigning the sizes of the tankers, to fit the recommended three axles,” Mololo said.
He said when the Kenyan government enforced the rule three weeks ago, his clients’ transporters went on a sit-down strike.
“The Kenyan government did not relent, saying the tonnage carried by the four-axle trucks ruined the roads.”
The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) Malaba regional manager, James Abodi, said prior to the measure, Malaba would handle between 50 to 60 fuel trucks per day. “Now we are clearing an average of 30 to 35 trucks a day,” he said.
Mololo said many fuel transporters had withdrawn their tankers. “They decided to park them as they source for money to adjust them,” he said.
“It has been very difficult for fuel transporters with over 200 trucks to adjust their budget to meet the required standards,” Mololo said, adding that dry cargo transporters had raised the number of trucks on roads. “Because the tonnage has been reduced from 32 to 24, a cargo transporter uses two trucks to carry cargo that was previously carried on one truck.
URA out-door supervisor Richard Chono said: “Before the measure, we were handling between 300 and 400 dry cargo trucks per day but we are now handling between 700 and 1,000 trucks a day.”
