KAMPALA – The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa has directed the Minister of Works and Transport to present a statement on rampant road accidents in the country and what the enforcing agencies were doing to curb the carnage.
The call followed a series of accidents that have claimed the lives of more than 100 people in recent weeks. The latest accident occurred on Friday morning when a bus Reg. No. UAT 259P, which was travelling from Kampala to Gulu rammed into a stationary trailer Reg. No. UAZ 381A/ UBD 318C – claiming the lives of at least18 people and leaving more than 20 injured.
Police records show that more than 90 lives were lost during the festive season. 35 of these died in two days between December 31, 2022, and January 1, 2023, while 55 died in 206 crushes that took place during the Christmas week.
Some of the most tragic accidents included one that claimed the Member of Parliament for Serere County, Patrick Okabe and his wife and another which claimed three members of the family of retired Supreme Court Justice, Paul Mugamba, among others.
Tayebwa said the responsibility to scrutinise government plans to counter road carnage lies on Parliament.
“The minister will be required to present a comprehensive statement that will be subject to a thorough debate. We shall need broad measures taken by the government to address road carnage,” said Tayebwa, who, too lost a family member in a road accident.
The Deputy Speaker was concerned that the accident reports in the media were all attributed to reckless driving, which he said must be checked. He proposed the need to review the issuance of permits, a process he said had been compromised by those who obtain permits by bribery as opposed to the required proof of training.
Tayebwa added that the state of potholes on roads within Kampala Capital City was deplorable, and requested accountability of the over $200m loans passed in the 10thParliament to reconstruct 27 roads in the city.
“I have observed a lot of potholes in Kampala, and the solution they are providing is patching them; we passed a loan to reconstruct most of the roads under Kampala Capital City Authority, it is now two years, I still see potholes everywhere,” noted Tayebwa.
Additional reporting by URN
