Thanks Seya, buses will do the trick
Jun 01, 2006
SIR — I wish to congratulate the Kampala City mayor Nasser Ntege Sebaggala for introducing buses in the city. UTODA officials, as ‘Seya’ says, are only interested in making money for themselves, at the expense of poor passengers.
SIR — I wish to congratulate the Kampala City mayor Nasser Ntege Sebaggala for introducing buses in the city. UTODA officials, as ‘Seya’ says, are only interested in making money for themselves, at the expense of poor passengers. Sebaggala has a point in reasoning that it is better to have a single bus carrying over 30 passengers at a go than have two taxis carrying a similar number. Kampala was originally built for lighter traffic but now the streets are choked with vehicles and that is why there are intolerable jams everywhere. It is common for people to spend an hour or more to get to work when they should have spent half an hour. This partly explains why we are backward. We spend a lot of time doing nothing! I must warn politicians and the elite who undermine people like Sebaggala that God has a strange way of redeeming his people through humble messengers. It is really not a question of whether someone can speak English or not or whether someone has a PhD or is a school dropout that matters in order for them to improve the welfare of their society. What really matters is how they use their brains. I think Sebaggala is the man to redeem the city.
Just this week I was reading about Mr. Johnson who had been Europeanised and Chinua Achebe who in his novel Things Fall Apart brought to light the richness of Africans and their culture. Likewise, many Ugandans have been too swallowed up by European values that hinder them from seeing reality. To many, ‘Seya’ is incompetent simply because he cannot speak good English! What is the use of speaking good English when that is all one can do? Why are many people who speak good English non-performers? Sebaggala is intelligent and understands what is good for his people and he is putting his expertise into practice. Recently when I was residing in Seeta, getting a taxi to that place was a real pain. Hundreds of people always wait at City Square for hours. Whenever the number of passengers swell, taxi drivers double the fares. Yet whenever a coaster comes along, it takes twice as many people than a kamunye at a go without increasing the fare. With buses people will be able to reach home much faster, and report back to work much earlier. There will be less headache caused by the noise of touts and less environment pollution. may God help Sebaggala to accomplish his plans for our city.
Let buses operate and those who feel uncomfortable with the development should be encouraged to find business elsewhere.
All the best to you Seya and all your supporters.
Deo T. Kabwende
Makerere University
Just this week I was reading about Mr. Johnson who had been Europeanised and Chinua Achebe who in his novel Things Fall Apart brought to light the richness of Africans and their culture. Likewise, many Ugandans have been too swallowed up by European values that hinder them from seeing reality. To many, ‘Seya’ is incompetent simply because he cannot speak good English! What is the use of speaking good English when that is all one can do? Why are many people who speak good English non-performers? Sebaggala is intelligent and understands what is good for his people and he is putting his expertise into practice. Recently when I was residing in Seeta, getting a taxi to that place was a real pain. Hundreds of people always wait at City Square for hours. Whenever the number of passengers swell, taxi drivers double the fares. Yet whenever a coaster comes along, it takes twice as many people than a kamunye at a go without increasing the fare. With buses people will be able to reach home much faster, and report back to work much earlier. There will be less headache caused by the noise of touts and less environment pollution. may God help Sebaggala to accomplish his plans for our city.
Let buses operate and those who feel uncomfortable with the development should be encouraged to find business elsewhere.
All the best to you Seya and all your supporters.
Deo T. Kabwende
Makerere University