Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) is seeking Shs 800 million to organise the boda boda industry in the city.
The State Minister for Kampala Affairs, Benny Namugwanya disclosed this while presenting the ministry’s policy statement for the 2018/2019 financial year before the Presidential Affairs Committee at Parliament on Thursday.
She explained that KCCA wants to streamline the boda boda industry so as to generate revenue but also ensure it’s clear of criminals. According to Ms Namugwanya, the Authority will use the money to recruit workers and buy equipment to facilitate the process of the streamlining the industry.
“We shall need people to do the work. We shall need computers help in the process. We may need biometric machines and all these cost money. But we also need to come up with a clear plan for the boda boda industry and the future,” she said.
She said KCCA will also help the boda boda operators to conduct effective elections of their leaders to address the leadership problems.
Ms Namugwanya told the Committee that the decision to streamline the industry is premised on a cabinet memo directing the Authority to come up with a system to manage the boda boda operations following reports that criminals were using the motor cycles to commit crime in the city.
“We are in the process of organizing boda bodas in the city. You know these boda bodas it is some kind of employment but of late, people look at them as criminals, somebody dies they say boda bodas were used.
So we want to organize this industry and before we want to begin by registering them. We want to know, who these people operating boda bodas in Kampala are,” she said.
The Authority has increased the budget for political governance from Shs15.8 billion to Shs17.8 billion. The additional funding is meant to cater for the emoluments of the city political leadership including the Lord Mayors and councillors.
The money will be drawn from revenues collected from the taxi and boda boda operators. KCCA presented a budget proposal of Shillings 695.26 billion for the 2018/2019 financial but the finance ministry slashed it to Shs479.94 billion leaving the Authority grappling with a deficit of Shs215.32 billion.
