What does UTODA use the loading fees for?
Aug 01, 2008
CALL it welfare or loading fees. The non-receipted charge that drivers pay for loading passengers in taxi parks has bred controversy in the taxi business in Kampala. The accountability for the huge sums of money that have for decades been collected at all stages in and outside the taxi parks is undo
By Chris Kiwawulo
CALL it welfare or loading fees. The non-receipted charge that drivers pay for loading passengers in taxi parks has bred controversy in the taxi business in Kampala. The accountability for the huge sums of money that have for decades been collected at all stages in and outside the taxi parks is undoubtedly indistinct, although some stage officials claim they have books of accounts.
Loading fee is money collected from drivers each time they leave taxi parks with passengers.
The Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers’ Association (UTODA) does not have records of the monies collected countrywide, but from Saturday Vision’s estimates, it is a colossal amount.
The fees go up to sh4,000 for town service taxis and sh30,000 for those operating upcountry routes, Saturday Vision has established.
A taxi driver going to Mbale pays sh20,000 each time he leaves Kampala and when he loads passengers in Mbale who are travelling to Kampala, he pays sh30,000, a driver on the route revealed. Upcountry taxis normally make one journey there and back.
For town service taxis, they ply between six to eight routes per day, while those going upcountry may go once or twice a day. But the drivers pay each time they load passengers.
This means that each taxi operating on the Mbale route pays sh1.5m per month, while those operating in Kampala pay up to sh900,000 per month. In a year, a taxi plying the Mbale route pays shl8m while that of Kampala pays shl0.8m.
There are over 20,000 taxis countrywide, of which 7,000 are operating in Kampala alone, according to UTODA national chairman John Ndyomugyenyi.
This means that Kampala taxis pay up to sh75.6b per year in loading fees and if you go by the Mbale charges for all upcountry taxis, they pay a total of sh234b per year.
All this money is incidentally neither receipted, nor accounted for. This raises concerns on how it is spent with some drivers alleging that only a few people benefit.
At every stage, a team of members led by a stage master collects the fees. Whereas the money is said to be for the drivers’ welfare, sources say a portion of the money is remitted to the UTODA top brass on a daily basis.
But the UTODA executive vehemently denies the allegation, arguing that the money is strictly for drivers’ welfare - in case of eventualities like death or sickness of a driver or family member(s).
However, some drivers say they do not benefit from the money. They allege that although they pay daily, the money ends up in a few people’s pockets and as such, it should be scrapped.
“For the last three years, I have not got any welfare money. Not even when I had problems,†Sserumaga Katende, a driver at the Mulago stage, said. There are about 90 taxis operating at the Mulago stage and each pays sh1,500 every time passengers fill it, Katende explains. On average, taxis at this stage operate eight routes per day.
The money has led to wrangles among taxi operators. A splinter group, Commercial Taxi Owners and Drivers’ Association (COTODA), wants the tender to run the Old and New taxi parks.
COTODA members say they would revolutionalise the taxi business and pay taxes promptly. UTODA owes Kampala City Council sh1.7b in taxes, according to records. COTODA petitioned the Inspector General of Police, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura, the state minister for economic monitoring, Kagimu Kiwanuka and local government minister Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafiire, over the legality of the loading fees.
Consequently, the local government ministry instituted a probe into the charges and in a report released at the end of May, the fees were declared illegal.
Local government state minister Hope Mwesigye directed that the collection of the fees stops effective July 1, but the directive was halted on the eve of the deadline by Otafiire. This was after UTODA officials opposed the directive and resolved to fight anyone who attempted to stop the collection of the money. Up to now, the fee is still being collected.
Ndyomugyenyi, however, said UTODA would soon start receipting the money, since the major complainants was lack of accountability.
UTODA members argue that they are being victimised, as many other organisations operating in upcountry parks are also collecting loading fees but are not being stopped. “This fee is everywhere. Whether truck, bus or special hire drivers, they pay welfare fees. Why should the minister victimise us?†asked Fred Anyoli, the Kamwokya stage chairman.
Anyoli, who produced a catalogue of books of accounts showing how the welfare funds are spent at his stage, says the findings of the report were meant to suit ‘selfish’ interests. “I found the loading fees when I joined UTODA some 10 years back. why stop them now?†he asked.
The UTODA executive led by the Kampala chairman, Hajji Musa Katongole, assured the over 300 members that nobody would tamper with their operations.
The members asked Kampala Resident District Commissioner Alice Muwanguzi to intervene as a proactive measure to avoid the imminent fracas in the city should anyone try to stop them from collecting the fees.
“We are not ready to adhere to that directive. The money helps us with our own welfare. It has been all along been collected. how come the minister wants to stop it now?†asked Diriisa Mpiima, a driver at Kibuye stage.
Muwanguzi, who met UTODA officials at Nsambya Sharing Hall recently, advised them to avoid being confrontational and to solve their grievances amicably.
CALL it welfare or loading fees. The non-receipted charge that drivers pay for loading passengers in taxi parks has bred controversy in the taxi business in Kampala. The accountability for the huge sums of money that have for decades been collected at all stages in and outside the taxi parks is undoubtedly indistinct, although some stage officials claim they have books of accounts.
Loading fee is money collected from drivers each time they leave taxi parks with passengers.
The Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers’ Association (UTODA) does not have records of the monies collected countrywide, but from Saturday Vision’s estimates, it is a colossal amount.
The fees go up to sh4,000 for town service taxis and sh30,000 for those operating upcountry routes, Saturday Vision has established.
A taxi driver going to Mbale pays sh20,000 each time he leaves Kampala and when he loads passengers in Mbale who are travelling to Kampala, he pays sh30,000, a driver on the route revealed. Upcountry taxis normally make one journey there and back.
For town service taxis, they ply between six to eight routes per day, while those going upcountry may go once or twice a day. But the drivers pay each time they load passengers.
This means that each taxi operating on the Mbale route pays sh1.5m per month, while those operating in Kampala pay up to sh900,000 per month. In a year, a taxi plying the Mbale route pays shl8m while that of Kampala pays shl0.8m.
There are over 20,000 taxis countrywide, of which 7,000 are operating in Kampala alone, according to UTODA national chairman John Ndyomugyenyi.
This means that Kampala taxis pay up to sh75.6b per year in loading fees and if you go by the Mbale charges for all upcountry taxis, they pay a total of sh234b per year.
All this money is incidentally neither receipted, nor accounted for. This raises concerns on how it is spent with some drivers alleging that only a few people benefit.
At every stage, a team of members led by a stage master collects the fees. Whereas the money is said to be for the drivers’ welfare, sources say a portion of the money is remitted to the UTODA top brass on a daily basis.
But the UTODA executive vehemently denies the allegation, arguing that the money is strictly for drivers’ welfare - in case of eventualities like death or sickness of a driver or family member(s).
However, some drivers say they do not benefit from the money. They allege that although they pay daily, the money ends up in a few people’s pockets and as such, it should be scrapped.
“For the last three years, I have not got any welfare money. Not even when I had problems,†Sserumaga Katende, a driver at the Mulago stage, said. There are about 90 taxis operating at the Mulago stage and each pays sh1,500 every time passengers fill it, Katende explains. On average, taxis at this stage operate eight routes per day.
The money has led to wrangles among taxi operators. A splinter group, Commercial Taxi Owners and Drivers’ Association (COTODA), wants the tender to run the Old and New taxi parks.
COTODA members say they would revolutionalise the taxi business and pay taxes promptly. UTODA owes Kampala City Council sh1.7b in taxes, according to records. COTODA petitioned the Inspector General of Police, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura, the state minister for economic monitoring, Kagimu Kiwanuka and local government minister Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafiire, over the legality of the loading fees.
Consequently, the local government ministry instituted a probe into the charges and in a report released at the end of May, the fees were declared illegal.
Local government state minister Hope Mwesigye directed that the collection of the fees stops effective July 1, but the directive was halted on the eve of the deadline by Otafiire. This was after UTODA officials opposed the directive and resolved to fight anyone who attempted to stop the collection of the money. Up to now, the fee is still being collected.
Ndyomugyenyi, however, said UTODA would soon start receipting the money, since the major complainants was lack of accountability.
UTODA members argue that they are being victimised, as many other organisations operating in upcountry parks are also collecting loading fees but are not being stopped. “This fee is everywhere. Whether truck, bus or special hire drivers, they pay welfare fees. Why should the minister victimise us?†asked Fred Anyoli, the Kamwokya stage chairman.
Anyoli, who produced a catalogue of books of accounts showing how the welfare funds are spent at his stage, says the findings of the report were meant to suit ‘selfish’ interests. “I found the loading fees when I joined UTODA some 10 years back. why stop them now?†he asked.
The UTODA executive led by the Kampala chairman, Hajji Musa Katongole, assured the over 300 members that nobody would tamper with their operations.
The members asked Kampala Resident District Commissioner Alice Muwanguzi to intervene as a proactive measure to avoid the imminent fracas in the city should anyone try to stop them from collecting the fees.
“We are not ready to adhere to that directive. The money helps us with our own welfare. It has been all along been collected. how come the minister wants to stop it now?†asked Diriisa Mpiima, a driver at Kibuye stage.
Muwanguzi, who met UTODA officials at Nsambya Sharing Hall recently, advised them to avoid being confrontational and to solve their grievances amicably.