Adjumani fares triple
May 05, 2003
TRANSPORT fares from Kampala to Adjumani have more than doubled, following persisted insecurity on Gulu-Adjumani Road
By Dradenya Amazia
TRANSPORT fares from Kampala to Adjumani have more than doubled, following persisted insecurity on Gulu-Adjumani Road.
The route has been abandoned after the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) of Joseph Kony killed 16 people and injured several others on Easter Monday. This has now pushed the fares from the usual sh15,000 sh40,000.
The travellers now have to go through Arua, using the Karuma-Pakwach Road, the only entrance still operational to West Nile by road.
The Kampala-Arua Adjumani fares have, however, remained stable at sh20,000.
Ahmed Awongo, the Adjumani Resident District Commissioner, said over the weekend the business community had abandoned the road for fear of LRA attacks.
“We use the Fuso and pick-up trucks of the business community to take the soldiers who guard the convoys from and to Adjumani but due to the recent attacks, they have feared to put their vehicles on this road and no vehicles are moving at the moment,†Awongo said.
He said his office had already contacted the 4th Division headquarters Gulu over the problem.
He was optimistic that the problem would soon be solved.
He said the business community in Adjumani and Moyo, the most affected districts had decried the constant attacks by the LRA and burning their vehicles, while there was no Government compensation.
“The soldiers use our vehicles to perform their duties free of charge, yet when rebels burn the vehicles, Government does not compensate. We cannot wait until they are all finished,†Dominic Dralaga, a Moyo businessman, said.
Gateway and Nile Bus Companies, that operate there have changed their routes to other districts after at least 29 people were killed last month.
TRANSPORT fares from Kampala to Adjumani have more than doubled, following persisted insecurity on Gulu-Adjumani Road.
The route has been abandoned after the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) of Joseph Kony killed 16 people and injured several others on Easter Monday. This has now pushed the fares from the usual sh15,000 sh40,000.
The travellers now have to go through Arua, using the Karuma-Pakwach Road, the only entrance still operational to West Nile by road.
The Kampala-Arua Adjumani fares have, however, remained stable at sh20,000.
Ahmed Awongo, the Adjumani Resident District Commissioner, said over the weekend the business community had abandoned the road for fear of LRA attacks.
“We use the Fuso and pick-up trucks of the business community to take the soldiers who guard the convoys from and to Adjumani but due to the recent attacks, they have feared to put their vehicles on this road and no vehicles are moving at the moment,†Awongo said.
He said his office had already contacted the 4th Division headquarters Gulu over the problem.
He was optimistic that the problem would soon be solved.
He said the business community in Adjumani and Moyo, the most affected districts had decried the constant attacks by the LRA and burning their vehicles, while there was no Government compensation.
“The soldiers use our vehicles to perform their duties free of charge, yet when rebels burn the vehicles, Government does not compensate. We cannot wait until they are all finished,†Dominic Dralaga, a Moyo businessman, said.
Gateway and Nile Bus Companies, that operate there have changed their routes to other districts after at least 29 people were killed last month.