By Gilbert Akampa Kakurugu,
MBARARA
Truck drivers in Mbarara City, operating under the Ankole United Truck Owners and Drivers Cooperative Society Limited, staged a protest this morning by parking their trucks at the Mbarara City South Division offices. The drivers are protesting against City Clerk Assy Abireebe Tumwesigire for allegedly improperly awarding a tender for revenue collection from lorry parking.
The drivers claim they were awarded the contract after successfully bidding for the tender in July 2024. However, they were shocked when the city clerk revoked the tender and reassigned it to another group, the Mbarara City Truck Owners, Drivers, and Loaders Cooperative Union. Truck drivers also said the city council also burdens them with double taxes by charging them for both loading &offloading and at the same time for parking. They want demand the council to know how one can load or offload without parking.
Speaking on behalf of the protesting drivers, Badilu Semwogere, chairman of the group, demanded an explanation from city authorities for the sudden revocation of their tender. Semwogerere they need an explanation from the council because they don’t know the person who has started collecting money from them.
Didas Muhanguzi, the City South Division clerk, explained that the group had initially been declared the best-evaluated bidders. However, during the procurement process, a complaint was raised by competing parties, prompting the need for an administrative review. He added that the city clerk had instructed the evaluation committee to reconvene and reassess the tender for loading and offloading.
Jomo Mugabi the Mbarara city south mayor in a phone interview told our reporter that the city council decided to suspend the Mbarara City Truck Owners, Drivers, and Loaders Cooperative Union from collecting revenue from lorry drivers. He stated that the suspension will remain in effect until the conflict between the two groups is resolved.
