Pioneer Bus Company sued over sh50m debt

By ANDANTE OKANYA
 
Debt-ridden passenger bus service Pioneer Easy Bus Company, has been sued over failure to settle a sh50m debt for office furniture purportedly supplied to it last year.

On April 10, furniture supplier Dezy Business Systems Limited filed a suit at the Commercial Court in Kampala, demanding payment, saying Pioneer had ignored repeated reminders.

The company's services are currently halted, after tax body Uganda Revenue Authority impounded its fleet of over 100 buses in February this year for failure to clear a sh8b tax debt.

Through Mbaziira and Company Advocates, the supplier states that it supplied Pioneer items worth sh60m last year on February 29.  Court documents show the bus company paid only sh10m.

Additionally, court documents show that the items supplied included reception table, reception chair, 12 drawers, an executive table, executive visitor chairs, and a bookshelf.

The suit is backed by the affidavit of Dezy's finance manager Diana Nalwanga, who confirms supply of the items to Pioneer.

The court has ordered Pioneer to file its defence to the allegations within 10 days from receipt of the summons.

In the summons dated April 10, 2013, issued by the court's registrar Margaret Tibulya, Pioneer has been cautioned to heed, lest judgment is passed in its absence.

The case file has been allocated to Justice Christopher Madrama. However, a hearing date is yet to be fixed.

Pioneer is currently battling another case of indebtedness at the same court. In February this year, a driving instructor's firm ETS International Driving Agency Limited, sued for breach of contract, claiming it is owed sh70m. The instructor trained Pioneer drivers.