KCCA to tax commercial vehicles

Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) will, with effect from January, start levying a monthly special tax on all commercial vehicles, including boda boda motorcycle taxis operating in the city, officials have announced.

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According to the acting director for revenue collection, Sam Sserunkuuma, cabs, which are commonly known as special hire cars, will be charged between sh40,000 and 52,000 each per month, depending on the number of seats.

For instance, four-passenger cars will be charged sh40,000, while Ipsum which carries five passengers will be charged sh52,000.

Other vehicles include tippers, buses, coasters, lorries and pick-up trucks.

"KCCA is already collecting sh120,000 from each commuter taxi operating in Kampala, but we want to increase our tax collection and decongest the city," Sserunkuuma said during a press conference at KCCA head offices in Kampala.

KCCA registered over 10,000 bodabodas in 2014.

It is also estimated that between 1,000 and 1,500 cabs operate in the city, although only 400 have been registered so far.

The number of other commercial vehicles is not yet known. In May, the Government gazzetted the Kampala Capital City (Commercial Road Users) Regulation, 2015.

The regulation requires owners of commercial vehicles to pay a levy to KCCA before they are allowed to operate within or transit through the city. It sets different levies for different categories of commercial road users.

However, road users have an option to pay the levy monthly, quarterly or yearly and be issued a sticker, which they will be mandated to display conspicuously.

Defaulters will part with sh100,000 in fines, plus the cost of storage and towing of the vehicle.

In cases where a vehicle is off the road due to poor mechanical condition or hands of a third party as collateral security for a loan obligation, the owner will be exempted from paying the levy upon notification of KCCA personnel.

The regulation prohibits cars in excess of four tonnes from "entering, moving, or parking on any street, road, lane in the central business district (CBD)."

However, the guidelines give a waiver to buses and vans. The regulation gives vehicles with four tonnes and above access to the CBD between 10:00pm and 5:00am for the purpose of loading or offloading goods.

Peter Asiimwe, bodaboda rider along Parliament Avenue in the city, said: "We are ready to pay but KCCA should widen the roads to make lanes for bodaboda. The 10,000 should be used to repair roads."