UNRA should get serious or resign
Jul 08, 2010
Hundreds of trucks ferrying goods into and out of Uganda were stuck in a miles-long jam in eastern Uganda earlier this week.
Hundreds of trucks ferrying goods into and out of Uganda were stuck in a miles-long jam in eastern Uganda earlier this week.
The blockage came as a result of a new weigh bridge system introduced by the Uganda National Road Authority (UNRA) that kicked off at the beginning of the month.
UNRA has suspended the initiative for a week after acknowledging that their inadequate equipment had caused the whole mess.
A UNRA spokesperson said a weighbridge at the Busia border post was out of order and they were working hard to restore it, but in the meantime would use equipment shipped in from Kampala to clear up the back-log.
UNRA must have been planning for this move months in advance, how come they were caught inadequately equipped for the move? Is it possible that the procurement of the necessary equipment had not been carried out and if so why launch the initiative knowing the server limitations? Or was it that someone purchased inferior equipment and pocketed the balance?
Given the inconvenience and delays caused by the jam, losses to the country in billions of shillings would not be hard to verify and someone needs to be held accountable.
It is already hard enough to do business in Uganda without our only route to the sea being crippled for even an hour. As an example of how public servants are totally oblivious to their role of supporting the private sector there is no better example than this recent disaster.
For Ugandan businessmen to be competitive — given their natural disadvantage that their country is landlocked, our transport needs to be quicker, cheaper and much more reliabnle than it is today.
The relevant public servants need to know this and work with this goal in mind.
UNRA should know that an off-hand apology is not enough, they need to get serious or resign.
The blockage came as a result of a new weigh bridge system introduced by the Uganda National Road Authority (UNRA) that kicked off at the beginning of the month.
UNRA has suspended the initiative for a week after acknowledging that their inadequate equipment had caused the whole mess.
A UNRA spokesperson said a weighbridge at the Busia border post was out of order and they were working hard to restore it, but in the meantime would use equipment shipped in from Kampala to clear up the back-log.
UNRA must have been planning for this move months in advance, how come they were caught inadequately equipped for the move? Is it possible that the procurement of the necessary equipment had not been carried out and if so why launch the initiative knowing the server limitations? Or was it that someone purchased inferior equipment and pocketed the balance?
Given the inconvenience and delays caused by the jam, losses to the country in billions of shillings would not be hard to verify and someone needs to be held accountable.
It is already hard enough to do business in Uganda without our only route to the sea being crippled for even an hour. As an example of how public servants are totally oblivious to their role of supporting the private sector there is no better example than this recent disaster.
For Ugandan businessmen to be competitive — given their natural disadvantage that their country is landlocked, our transport needs to be quicker, cheaper and much more reliabnle than it is today.
The relevant public servants need to know this and work with this goal in mind.
UNRA should know that an off-hand apology is not enough, they need to get serious or resign.