Traffic paralysed as striking taxi operators block Mbale-Tirinyi road
Anti riot police officers intervened to stop the taxi operators from demonstrating, saying its was uncalled for. PHOTO BY YAHUDU KITUNZI
What you need to know:
- Police led by Mbale District Police Commander, Mr Steven Ahweera persuaded the protesters to stop the demonstration, assuring them that government is working to see the construction resumes.
- However, the UNRA spokesperson, Mr Mark Ssali, recently told Daily Monitor that they had procured a new contractor, China Civil Engineering and construction Corporation [CCECC] to resume work, but they were held back after Dott services ran to court over what it termed as unlawful termination of their contract.
Traffic was on Thursday paralysed for several hours after taxi operators and boda boda riders in Mbale Town blocked Mbale- Tirinyi road in protest against the poor state of the road.
The protesters erected barricades and burnt tyres in the middle of the road and used stones to block traffic for about four hours, citing government failure to finish rehabilitation of the road.
The construction work on the road stopped in May after Uganda National Road Authority (UNRA) terminated its contract with Dott services, accusing the contractor of failure to comply with the contractual obligations and was not willing to be supervised by UNRA team.
However, the angry road users accused UNRA officials of being unserious and inconsiderate to the people who have lost relatives in motor accidents due to the sorry state of the road.
“Every week, we lose someone on this road as a result of an accident. We are tired of burying our dear ones,” Mr Fred Lubasi, a boda boda rider, said.
Mr Titus Magomu, a taxi driver, said the road has become a problem to motorists and the pedestrians especially due to existing open water channels.
“If the government has failed its duties, it should declare this road unusable,” he said.
Mr Magomu said they have resolved to give government an ultimatum of two weeks, failure of which they will march up to State House in expression of their disappointment.
“We are determined to do anything because we cannot afford to continue like this,” he said.
Police led by Mbale District Police Commander, Mr Steven Ahweera persuaded the protesters to stop the demonstration, assuring them that government is working to see the construction resumes.
“The government is doing as much as possible to solve the problem of the bad road. Demonstrating cannot solve anything,” Mr Ahweera, said.
Mr Ahwere further promised to engage UNRA officials over the matter.
However, the UNRA spokesperson, Mr Mark Ssali, recently told Daily Monitor that they had procured a new contractor, China Civil Engineering and construction Corporation [CCECC] to resume work, but they were held back after Dott services ran to court over what it termed as unlawful termination of their contract.
