Writes Leo idera Omolo In Busia Biorder Point

HUNDREDS of cargo trucks from Malaba and Busia border posts are stranded at Busitema in the eastern district of Tororo due to the slow weight verification exercise reintroduced by the works ministry on July 1.

The trucks, some from Mombasa port, Kenya and eastern Uganda, yesterday created a massive traffic jam stretching several kilometres long. The crisis caused fears that it could disrupt supplies of fuel and revenue collection.

Three long queues had formed by yesterday evening. One stretched from Busitema check-point to Busitema University. Another from Busia border to the checkpoint and a third from the check point towards Muwayo.

The works ministry, through the roads authority, UNRA, established a weigh-bridge check-point at Busitema on the Iganga-Bugiri-Busia highway. All the cargo vehicles are expected not to exceed 56 tonnes per truck.

However, because small bridges were being used, the clearance process hit a crisis with trucks blocking either side of the main routes to and from Busia and Malaba border posts.

Juma Mukasa, a taxi driver who operates on the Kampala-Malaba route, said by morning heavy trucks had blocked the entire road. He said the diversion route in nearby villages was impassable and vehicles got stuck in the mud.

The traffic Police restored order later in the day by instructing the drivers to make one queue on the side of the road. Some drivers blamed the crisis on the system being used by UNRA officials at the Busitema weigh-bridge. The New Vision learnt that it takes 45 minutes to weigh a truck.

A Uganda Revenue Authority official said unlike in the past, UNRA was using a smaller mobile weigh-bridge unsuited for heavy duty. The small weigh-bridges are meant for spot-checks. The big ones used previously are non-functional, sources said.
The truck drivers said Kenya uses big weigh-bridges, making the process faster.

Julius Ssemakula, a truck driver, who was transporting industrial materials from Mombasa to Kampala, said Kenyan authorities take only three minutes to clear a truck.

The drivers also complained that the delays posed a big risk to them. William Kosgei, a truck driver, said he was carrying sensitive and expensive cargo.
“This slow exercise has disrupted the cargo flow. There is no security. We are at risk of being attacked,” said Kosgei.

David Kipsiro, another heavy truck driver, said he reached Busitema at dawn yesterday yet his vehicle had not yet been checked by 6:00pm.

William Kakaire, another driver, feared a fire outbreak, given the many fuel tankers stuck in the long queues.

UNRA officials declined to comment on the situation. Sources, however, said the officials had seized 28 cargo trucks found exceeding the maximum load of 56 tonnes per truck. Whoever breaches the rule is liable to a fine of sh6m or two years in jail.

Peter Kaujju, a URA official, said the tax authority was concerned about the problem at the weigh-bridge. He said the delays could affect revenue collection.
“We have received reports that some Kenyan drivers have refused to cross into Uganda until the long queues are cleared,” he said.

The slow fuel supply across Uganda was also starting to push prices up, he added.

“This is an inconvenience. We are not able to clear the trucks as and when they come,” Kaujju explained.
He said a big number of trucks in the queues were in transit to Rwanda and the DR Congo. He was happy, however, that no problems had been reported at other stations.

Works minister John Nasasira last October suspended the operations of six weigh-bridges over corruption after an investigation unearthed gross irregularities in their management. The service only resumed last week.

The weigh-bridges are based in Sironko, Busia, Busitema, Lukaya, Mbarara and Mubende. Another six mobile ones are used across the country.

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