Africa-Press – Uganda. The owners of Nile Coaches, eight of whose buses were torched by Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels on the West Nile highway, have renewed their request to government to pay the remaining approved Shs1b compensation.
Upon successful verification of its compensation claim by the Attorney General’s office, and on the orders of President Museveni, the government on June 4, 2009, paid Nile Coaches Shs120m, and promised to clear the Shs1. 08b balance in the next financial year.
The money, however, has not been paid to date and no explanation given for the delay even after President Museveni on September 30, 2009, directed afresh that the compensation be immediately paid to Mr Abdulrahman Ahmed, the managing director of the bus company.
The President on August 29, 2006 directed the then Attorney General, Prof Kiddu Makubuya, to pay Shs1.2b as compensation for the eight Nile Coaches buses.
In an August 4 letter to State Minister for Economic Affairs Peter Ogwang, whose copy this newspaper has seen, Nile Coaches proprietor Abdulrahman writes that “[the] balance has not been paid to our company since then, leading to a lot of financial strain on the company operations. And our follow ups have so far failed to yield any success.”
As a result of the attacks, and pay-outs to help families that lost bread winners in the ambushes as well as other business challenges, Nile Coaches buses are now nine from 60 in its heydays.
Speaking to the management and the proprietor of Nile Coaches last week, Mr Ogwang apologised for the failure by the people involved to compensate Mr Abdulrahman as directed by the President 15 years ago, describing the inaction as “unacceptable”.
Describing himself as a link between the private sector and the Office of the President, he pledged to remind the President and ensure the payment is made with speed.
The company’s general manager, Mr Maroine Nassufoudine, speaking on behalf of Mr Abdulrahman, said if the government cleared the Shs1b balance, “this money can go a long way in injecting some much-needed capital into the business during these tough economic times of Covid-19 and save the company from complete collapse.”
In the August 4 letter, Mr Abdulrahman said the torched buses were acquired through lease from the banks and the fact that it didn’t serve the purpose for which they were intended for, due to the LRA rebel activities, has plunged the company in high-interest debt that is burdening the directors.
About the company
Nile Coaches, which started in 1994, was a flagship transporter to and from West Nile for decades, enduring the rough terrain of the dirt road and rebel attacks to serve the region when most buses avoid the route due to high risks.
