Drivers’ strike paralyses Malaba
Oct 20, 2008
CARGO in transit to Uganda and other parts of the Great Lakes region is stuck in Kenya following a strike by long distance truck drivers who are protesting the poor state of the Malaba Uganda customs parking yard.
By Faustine Odeke
CARGO in transit to Uganda and other parts of the Great Lakes region is stuck in Kenya following a strike by long distance truck drivers who are protesting the poor state of the Malaba Uganda customs parking yard.
The strike that has been looming since the drivers’ representatives gave the Uganda Government up to October 4 to fix the impassable customs parking yard, kicked off yesterday in Malaba Kenya.
The drivers are protesting the continued plucking off of their vehicle number plates by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) when the drivers defy entering or parking into the gazetted yard. The drivers are then made to pay a fine of sh200,000.
The chairperson of the East and Central African Long Distance Drivers Union, Nicholas Mbugwa, said the executive members of the union on Friday met with the drivers in Malaba Kenya, where issues concerning their safety and the Ugandan customs yard were discussed.
Mbugwa said the Teso district commissioner, who attended the meeting, was asked to liaise with the Ugandan Government to see how it can address the problem immediately.
However, the strike has seen the drivers park their vehicles on roadsides on the Kenyan side, leaving the international entry point open to other motorists. Only trucks from the Ugandan side were crossing into Kenya. The Ugandan authorities are still pondering how to approach the matter.
CARGO in transit to Uganda and other parts of the Great Lakes region is stuck in Kenya following a strike by long distance truck drivers who are protesting the poor state of the Malaba Uganda customs parking yard.
The strike that has been looming since the drivers’ representatives gave the Uganda Government up to October 4 to fix the impassable customs parking yard, kicked off yesterday in Malaba Kenya.
The drivers are protesting the continued plucking off of their vehicle number plates by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) when the drivers defy entering or parking into the gazetted yard. The drivers are then made to pay a fine of sh200,000.
The chairperson of the East and Central African Long Distance Drivers Union, Nicholas Mbugwa, said the executive members of the union on Friday met with the drivers in Malaba Kenya, where issues concerning their safety and the Ugandan customs yard were discussed.
Mbugwa said the Teso district commissioner, who attended the meeting, was asked to liaise with the Ugandan Government to see how it can address the problem immediately.
However, the strike has seen the drivers park their vehicles on roadsides on the Kenyan side, leaving the international entry point open to other motorists. Only trucks from the Ugandan side were crossing into Kenya. The Ugandan authorities are still pondering how to approach the matter.