KCCA, police must act on boda boda menace

A week to Christmas last year, the police and Works ministry released a raft of proposals to address the spike in road carnage, interventions which seemed sensible at the time. Road traffic accidents, largely on account of reckless driving, is something the country has grappled with for long, with the stand-out cause being the motorcycle taxi (boda boda) menace – for which a solution appears inexplicably elusive.

Rather depressing news from the provinces has it that the cancer has spread to upcountry towns. On top of being a hazard to limb and life itself, unregulated boda boda operations are a huge factor in the unsustainable congestion afflicting the roads. As we aspire for smart urban environments, it is urgent that the authorities come to grips with this issue.

There has to be an answer to the rogue riders who are terrorising other road users. The police’s pre-Xmas promise to deal firmly with all motorists, cyclists etc who misuse our roads appears to have been a puff of very hot air. If anything, the chaos being formented on Kampala city’s roads seems to be actually worse today.

For pedestrians, the situation is grave. Out-of-control boda boda riders are zooming on the pavements in complete disregard for their safety.
And yet the police and city authorities look on, pretending not to see. With days to the Non-Aligned Movement and G77+China summits, isn’t it ironical that a lot of resources are being expended on sprucing up parts of the city while ignoring the eyesore which is traffic disorder?
Having lost the battle for planned towns given the slum-like urban sprawl unfolding countrywide as we speak, the least we must do is make a last stand on the traffic.

Imagine one of the delegates to these summits is knocked down by an unruly boda boda during a post-meeting evening stroll. It would be quite the scandal. Those delegates should not be allowed to return home with horror stories about the traffic mess in Uganda. Seemingly small things like that can turn out to be a huge disincentive for future return visits, dealing a body blow to our tourism marketing efforts.

If the police trot out the dubious line that they are short of manpower to police the pavements, the city authority should consider planting concrete pillars on the pavements which only allow pedestrians through. Monies for this life-saving investment in good order should come from a daily fee levied on the very nuisance gangs we are dealing with in the form of reckless boda boda operators.

Ultimately, though, the final solution lies in regulation. There are too many boda bodas in Kampala’s congested central business district. A courageous decision has to be made about limiting and controlling the numbers.