Senior members of Kampala City Council (KCC) are divided over a directive banning the operation of bodaboda motorcycles in Kampala's Central Business District.
Florence Namayanja the Deputy Mayor of Kampala last week announced the ban on the bodaboda operations. The ban was declared after a meeting with the police and various local government agencies. However yesterday the police renege on its decision, saying there was greater need for consultation on the matter.
KCC Councilors Dan Ssali and Kibirige Muwanga are also against the bodaboda ban. They said the decision was never approved by the Council. Procedurally the KCC executive should have presented the matter to Council for discussion and approval before announcing its enforcement.
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Ssali and Muwanga said that the bodaboda ban was mentioned during a KCC retreat in June this year. They disclose that during the retreat, it was agreed that all bodaboda stages along Ben Kiwanuka Street, Kampala Road and Entebbe Road be relocated, but a total ban was never discussed.
The Deputy Mayor, Florence Namayanja is adamant about the ban. She says it is intended to decongest the city and is part of wider proposals contained in the Kampala Urban Transport Improvement Plan. The plan was approved by KCC in 2005.
However Councilor Kibirige Muwanga says the plan can only succeed if alternate routes for the bodaboda operators are established and guidelines for their work are set. Muwanga adds that KCC should provide pedestrians with cheap and reliable commuter taxis to replace bodabodas in the city center.
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Meanwhile KCC members aligned to the Democratic Party met this afternoon to discuss the bodaboda ban. The meeting followed a statement by some DP councilors asking for the withdrawal of the ban.
Several senior positions within KCC, including that of Mayor of Kampala, are occupied by Democratic Party members.
