Africa-Press – Uganda. Public Service Vehicles (PSV) operators have requested the works and transport ministry to extend the commencement period for payment of the annual lump sum park user fees.
PSV operators complained to President Yoweri Museveni over multiple fees on routes that were charged on a daily basis and demanded a lump sum fee to be paid annually.
After consultation with key stakeholders, it was resolved that buses pay sh2.4m while the taxis sh840,000 per year. This led to the scrapping of all the daily multiple charges that the PSV operators used to pay to town councils, municipalities and districts that ranged from sh5,000 to sh30,000 per journey.
Payment for this annual lumpsum park user fees was scheduled to commence on January 1, 2021.
However, bus operators have written to the works and transport minister, Gen. Katumba Wamala, seeking for rescheduling, alleging that the industry is not performing well due to the impact of Covid-19.
Solomon Nsimire, the chairman of the United Bus Owners Association (UBOA) and the proprietors for Link Bus Company said just like other businesses, the transport industry was severely affected by Covid-19, with some companies operating half of their fleets due to limited passengers.
He said the payment of the lump sum fee had also come at a period of renewal of PSV licenses which stands at sh1.5m and payment of Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) advance income tax of sh20,000 per seat where 70-passenger seater buses pay a total of sh1.4m.
However, Winstone Katushabe, the chief Licensing officer and the commissioner for transport regulations and safety, said postponing payment of fees calls for more consultations as it had already been already cleared.
The fees are deposited at a URA account and will later be shared by local governments that have been collecting it in bits across the country where PSV buses and taxis traverse.
Robert Mutebi, a UBOA executive member, said their request to the Government is to push the collection to the 2022 Calendar year and be paid on a quarterly basis.
He said the bus industry is currently performing poorly with many operators highly indebted while others grounded part of the fleets.
