UTODA ordered to stop illegal fees
Mar 29, 2007
THE President’s Office has directed the Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association (UTODA) to stop collecting over sh1b it has been getting illegally.
By Joyce Namutebi
THE President’s Office has directed the Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association (UTODA) to stop collecting over sh1b it has been getting illegally.
“Out of the estimated sh1.82b collected, only about sh721m is official and receipted leaving a whopping sh1.1b outside what can be followed up and probably taxed,†the state minister for economic monitoring in the Office of the President, Maurice Peter Kagimu, revealed yesterday.
Presenting a report on the ‘Problems facing the taxi transport system in Kampala’ to journalists, Kagimu warned that UTODA would be prosecuted and its tender cancelled if they failed to comply.
He said UTODA should only collect sh4,500 paid by each taxi operating in Kampala and the sh20,000 paid as a monthly fee for the use of facilities in the parks.
“UTODA should from today (yesterday) collect only money which is official and receipted. Tax drivers should stop paying unreceipted charges,†the minister insisted.
Kagimu disclosed that upcountry-bound taxis are charged between sh200,000 and sh1m to load from the taxi park, while those which operate from town stages pay between sh70,000 and sh100,000.
But UTODA chief Musa Katongole said the minister should give them an opportunity to meet and explain the circumstances surrounding the charges.
In May 2005, the Commercial Court ruled that it was illegal for UTODA to force taxi operators to pay loading fees outside the taxi parks.
THE President’s Office has directed the Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association (UTODA) to stop collecting over sh1b it has been getting illegally.
“Out of the estimated sh1.82b collected, only about sh721m is official and receipted leaving a whopping sh1.1b outside what can be followed up and probably taxed,†the state minister for economic monitoring in the Office of the President, Maurice Peter Kagimu, revealed yesterday.
Presenting a report on the ‘Problems facing the taxi transport system in Kampala’ to journalists, Kagimu warned that UTODA would be prosecuted and its tender cancelled if they failed to comply.
He said UTODA should only collect sh4,500 paid by each taxi operating in Kampala and the sh20,000 paid as a monthly fee for the use of facilities in the parks.
“UTODA should from today (yesterday) collect only money which is official and receipted. Tax drivers should stop paying unreceipted charges,†the minister insisted.
Kagimu disclosed that upcountry-bound taxis are charged between sh200,000 and sh1m to load from the taxi park, while those which operate from town stages pay between sh70,000 and sh100,000.
But UTODA chief Musa Katongole said the minister should give them an opportunity to meet and explain the circumstances surrounding the charges.
In May 2005, the Commercial Court ruled that it was illegal for UTODA to force taxi operators to pay loading fees outside the taxi parks.