Africa-Press – Uganda. Government has finally given the nod to the operationalisation of Nateete, Bwaise, and Banda bus terminals in a bid to decongest Kampala City.
The revelation was made last week by State minister for Kampala Kyofatogabye Kabuye while inspecting the Bwaise Transit Bus Terminal.
The minister said government will process the operational permits for the three terminals so that they can act as stop centres for taxis and buses coming from upcountry.
“Government has signed a concession to bring buses in the city but they need space and that’s why we want these three terminals to become operational and start accommodating buses and taxis, which currently ply upcountry routes. The new buses will, among others, pick passengers from the terminals and drop them to the city centre in an orderly manner,” he said.
Mr Kabuye noted that he was assigned to assess the status of the three terminals and report back to Cabinet before their operational licences can be approved.
He said works on Nateete terminal are now complete pending a permit while the construction of Bwaise terminal is at 65 per cent.
Past leaders blamed
However, Col (Rtd) Fred Bogere, the director of Kampala Logistical Centre Investment Limited (Kalocen), which manages the Bwaise terminal, attributed the stalled operationalisation of the terminals to lack of commitment from technocrats at Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA).
Without mentioning names, Col Bogere reported to the minister that some of the technocrats were asking for bribes before even approving the plans for the terminal. “Whenever we go to any financial institutions they need commitment from KCCA first but unfortunately many forces have frustrated the project. Some government officials see us as business people and not their partners and that’s why they even ask for bribes to approve mere plans,” he said.
The Bwaise terminal sits on nine acres of land and is strategically located near the Northern Bypass and Bombo Road.
Col Bogere said the facility will have three wings accommodating taxis, buses, and lorries to ferry passengers’ merchandise.
According to the plan, it will accommodate 543 taxis, 60 buses and 30 lorries. The facility will be ready by June next year.
The Nateete terminal sits on 10 acres of land and is strategically located on Masaka and Mityana roads. It also connects motorists to the Northern Bypass and Entebbe Expressway.
The Banda terminal is located opposite Nabisunsa Girls Secondary School and sits on 13 acres of land. It majorly connects to the Kampala-Jinja highway.
In 2012, government through KCCA advertised in the local dailies, asking interested investors to submit their bids for the establishment of the bus terminals and taxi parks outside the city centre.
According to the advert, the land on which the bus terminals or taxi parks would be established was supposed to be 5-10 km from the city and have an acreage of 5-10 acres.
The objective
Government anticipated that by setting terminals in the periphery areas, the number of private cars that proceed to city bus terminals to pick passengers, would reduce since the terminals would have taxis to shuttle passengers to their different destinations.
Following the successful procurement process, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between KCCA and the investors.
Documents seen by this newspaper show that Busega Business centre was to construct the Nateete terminal, Banda Developments was to construct the Banda terminal while Kalocen investment was to build the Bwaise terminal.
According to the MoU, the city authority is, among others, supposed to facilitate the approval process of the architectural and structural plans for construction of the bus terminals and taxi parks.
On the other hand, investors are supposed to, among others, ensure that the terminals have sufficient provision for a waiting lounge, washrooms, toilets, banks, shops, storage rooms and restaurants, among others.
However, the delayed approval of operational permits have left investors stuck, with some planning to abandon the project.
Then Kampala minister Beti Olive Kamya in November 2017 wrote to then KCCA executive director Jennifer Musisi and then minister of Transport Henry Bagiire, asking why they were not approving a relocation plan to the new bus terminals.
Past delays
“We shall not lose sight of the big picture of decongesting the city, redeem government’s image as dependable and supporting a Ugandan who has invested in a useful facility which fits in and would advance the objectives of KCCA and Ministry of Works and Transport,” Ms Kamya wrote.
She was referring to the Nateete terminal which had been completed but technocrats at KCCA and the Ministry of Works reportedly refused to relocate the buses plying the western route there as per the plan.
Asked whether government will not betray the investors again, Minister Kabuye said all is now set to operationalise the three bus terminals.
