Transporters, roads agency battle over weighbridges

Aug 01, 2010

TORORO Cement has denied accusations by the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) that it flouts traffic and road safety regulations. The company is accusing UNRA of “unfair treatment” alleging that those abusing overloading policies were still at large.

By Emojong Osere

TORORO Cement has denied accusations by the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) that it flouts traffic and road safety regulations. The company is accusing UNRA of “unfair treatment” alleging that those abusing overloading policies were still at large.

“What we want is fairness,” the chief marketing manager Alok Kala, noted.

“When we talk of a level-playing field, the same should apply to all players. Whoever is overloading should be punished. Pointing fingers at one and leaving others, is unfair, unethical and will not help. Tororo Cement has built its brand on good quality, effective customer services, and competitive prices of its products,” B.M. Gagrani, the executive director, added.

In April, UNRA warned the cement maker with over 60% market share, that its trucks ferrying limestone from Karamoja, and cement from the factory to its depots across the country overload.

Limestone is an essential input in cement manufacturing. It is transported from the quarries to the factories. Tororo and Hima factories are not on quarry sites.

Gagrani said they had spent billions of shillings to construct culverts and murram roads to facilitate public transport in the Karamoja region.

This compelled UNRA to write them a letter of appreciation, Gagrani noted.

Last week, Tororo Cement and the Uganda Transporters Alliance, accused UNRA of failing to contain individual over-loaders.

However, Dan Alinange, the UNRA publicist said they investigated continued road abuse by Tororo Cement.

“UNRA is aware of these (overloading) complaints. We singled out Tororo Cement because we had clear evidence. They’re answerable because the trucks load on their premises.

“They have to make sure their transporters are compliant,” he said.

But Alok said most of the outsourced transporters undertake written contracts to follow road rules but the quarry sites do not have weighbridges. He said they had taken necessary steps to control the vice.

Gagrani said their responsibility was to load trucks according to the axle law but can not be liable when drivers contravene the rules after leaving the factory.

Alinange said UNRA was monitoring all firms to ensure they comply with the transport regulations.

“The complaints against Hima Cement are being investigated. Our people and the Police had found a number of trucks overloading,” he said.

However, Hima, which had been accused of neglecting transport rules, distanced itself from the blame.

“Our trucks are subjected to mandatory inspection for pre-loading and off-loading check lists,” Habel Okema, the health and road safety coordinator, said.

“We have deployed more than 80 marshals across our sites to inspect trucks for compliance. Non-compliant trucks are not allowed to our sites.”

However, industry insiders alleged that the Kasese-based firm does not follow loading regulations due to inexistence of weighbridges between the factory and its quarry sites.

William Busuulwa, the Uganda Transporters Alliance chairman, blamed UNRA for the continued contravention of weighbridge laws. He accused UNRA of failure to control rouge drivers who overload to cut transport costs.

Busuulwa also questioned the time courts took to preside over cases involving overloading, noting that the long periods were disadvantageous to the business community whose goods were impounded together with the trucks.

He said the Government should introduce express penalties for disobedient transporters other than arraign them in the courts.

“A proper idea should be to introduce express penalties so that we do not make losses since some impounded goods are perishables. It is illegal for transporters to overload and for us as an association; we are ready to get them,” he said.

Tororo Cement and the transporters alliance jointly reiterated the need to introduce gross weighbridges, which do not weigh trucks axle-by-axle.

“At times you leave the factory with the recommended load, but on reaching a weighbridge, you are told the vehicle is overloaded. The weighbridges are inefficient. UNRA should replace them and introduce machines that measure gross weight,” Busuulwa said.

It remains to be seen if the wrangle will be settled as two strikes against UNRA have already been staged by transporters in the east and western regions since the new weighbridge law started on July 1.

Alinange, however, said UNRA would establish a weighbridge along the Mbale-Soroti road to counter overloading of trucks destined for northern Uganda and South Sudan.

“We have carried out the restructuring of our weighbridge staff and equipment,” he said.

“The enforcement is going on though we still have a number of loopholes. We need more weighbridges to cater for some of the routes especially those going to Sudan.”

“In the meantime, we are constructing new permanent weighbridges in Mbarara, Magamaga and Luweero. We also need to urgently put a weighbridge on the Tororo-Mbale-Soroti-Lira route because of the increased traffic.”



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