Museveni halts transfer of city buses to Nateete
Nateete Taxi Park where buses plying the western route will be relocated to. PHOTO BY MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI
KAMPALA- President Museveni has halted plans by the Transport Licensing Board (TLB) and Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to relocate buses plying the western route to Nateete Bus Terminal in the city outskirt.
Daily Monitor has learnt that the President’s directive was informed by an outcry by some bus operators who were opposed to the plans.
Highly-placed sources told this newspaper that the President met representatives of the bus operators alongside some KCCA and TLB officials, and directed that the planned relocation be halted pending comprehensive consultations.
Nateete Bus Terminal is one of the outer-ring terminals KCCA planned for in-bound upcountry buses to stop as part of measures to decongest the inner city. The others are Bwaise and Banda.
Kampala Minister Beti Kamya who attended the meeting with the President, said: “The President advised that whereas it was necessary to decongest the city, the relocation of bus terminals from the city centre should be stayed until consultations with all stakeholders are made.”
The relevant ministries and government agencies are working out finer details to implement the presidential directive, before the new bus terminals can become operational. Kampala’s traffic jams have been complicated by narrow roads and indisciplined motorists who regularly flout traffic rules.
The government earlier signed a Memorandum of Understanding with private investors to construct bus terminals in the periphery areas to ease the current traffic flow.
