Africa-Press – Uganda. Government has said there is need to find a balance between economic and health interest amid an ongoing standoff resulting from a directive for mandatory Covid-19 testing for all truck drivers.
Speaking after a closed-door meeting yesterday, Mr Emmanuel Mutahunga, the Ministry of Trade commissioner external trade, said both ministries of Health and Trade had agreed to engage other stakeholders to find a solution.
“The ministers of Health and Trade in their consultations agreed in principle to meet other stakeholders to find a win-win solution,” he said.
However, Mr Mutahunga did not provide further details on how the two ministers had progressed on the $30 (about Shs106,000) charge that Kenyan truck drivers on Monday slapped on importers as compensation for the fee paid for Covid-19 testing.
At the close of December last year, government directed all truck drivers to test for Covid-19 before entering Uganda.
However, truck drivers have protested the move, noting that this has created an unnecessary cost and delays at Malaba border town.
During the meeting, according to Mr Mutahunga, the two ministers also discussed the action taken by the Kenyan Transport Association.
However, he did not give further details on the matter.
In a January 3 notice, Mr Newton Wango’o, the Kenya Transporters Association chairman, told importers across the region that the decision by the Uganda Ministry of Health to charge each truck driver $30 to test for Covid-19 before entering or transiting through Uganda, had left them with no alternative but to recover the same cost from importers.
“We are left with no alternative but to recover the same cost from you. These costs continue to slice our margins exposing transporters to an uncertain future,” he wrote .
Mr Wango’o also stated that whereas Uganda had decided to charge all truck drivers entering its territory, the Kenyan government was doing it free of charge with results remaining valid for 14 days.
In a December 20, 2021 letter, the Ministry of Health instructed that every truck driver must be tested before entering Uganda, irrespective of previous test status.
But Mr Wango’o said whereas they appreciate the sovereignty of countries and duty of governments to protect their citizens, the additional costs are unbearable by transporters.
The deputy chairperson of Private sector Foundation Uganda, Ms Victoria Sekitoleko, said they should not be left out of the talks.
“Was the private sector consulted about this policy? It is the private sector affected when such policies are done,” she said.
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