KCCA to charge commercial vehicles

By Moses Walubiri

OWNERS of commercial vehicles and motor cycles (bodabodas) will soon be required by new regulations to pay a levy to Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) before they are allowed to operate within or transit through the city.

Dubbed the Kampala Capital City (Commercial Road Users) Regulation, 2015, the rules are set to have a significant impact on both traffic control and how people earning their bread from offering public transport will henceforth conduct their business.

The new regulations that were recently gazetted set different levies for different categories of commercial road users, ranging from sh90,000 a year for motor cycles to sh2.3m for tippers and big trucks.

However, the regulation is flexible, giving the road users an option to pay the levy monthly, quarterly or yearly.

Upon payment of the levy, road users will be issued a sticker which they will be mandated to display conspicuously.

Level defaulters will part with sh100,000 in fines, plus the cost of storage and towing of the car.

In cases where motor vehicle or motor cycle are off the road due to poor mechanical condition or hands of a third party  as collateral security for to a loan obligation, the owner will be exempted from paying the levy upon notification of KCCA personnel.

In a bid to mitigate the worsening gridlock in the city, the regulation prohibits cars in excess of four tonnes from "entering, moving, or parking on any street, road, lane in the Central Business District (CBD)." However, the guidelines give a waiver to buses and vans. 

The regulations will give vehicles with four tonnes and above access to the CBD from 10pm to 5am for purpose of loading or offloading goods.

For some time, police boss, Gen. Kale Kayihura has labeled fuel tankers snaking around the city in traffic jam a security threat saying combustible goods like petrol should only be loaded or unloaded at night.

The regulation gives KCCA powers to strictly enforce the new guidelines including imposing sanctions on individuals that try to obstruct city authorities from coming down hard on defaulters.

In case one defaults and has his car towed and stored at KCCA's designated ground, such a defaulter will be required to pay the surcharge and cost of storage.

And in case of failure to claim a towed motor cycle or vehicle, KCCA legal department will have the power to sell the motor cycle or vehicle in question by public auction after publishing a notice in the gazette.

Commercial vehicles or motor cycles will only load or offload at designated points, with taxi drivers set to be slapped with fines for touting.

As required under section 82(3) of the KCCA Act, the minister in charge of KCCA is expected to lay before parliament the new regulations. However, lawmakers are not expected to debate or make any amendments to the subsidiary legislation.

Asked about the timing and rationale of the regulations, KCCA Deputy Spokesperson, Robert Kalumba said the new guidelines "are a mixture of regulation and revenue collection."

"We are going to kill two birds with one stone – collect revenue and at the same time organize transport in Kampala," Kalumba said.

Chairperson of taxi drivers association in Kampala, Mustafa Mayambala said the levy will not be novelty to his members since they are already paying KCCA sh120,000 monthly.

He said: "I think they are devising ways of legitimizing the fee we have been paying for over a year."