Hoima councilors decline to pass ordinance on traffic management

HOIMA, UGANDA: The Hoima city council has refused to pass an ordinance that will govern the movement of vehicles and pedestrians in Hoima city.

The ordinance was suggested by the Hoima city deputy Mayor Hon. Silvia Nalumaga Balyesiima in a council meeting in a bid to control the increased accidents in Hoima city.

“The team has provided us the final draft of the ordinance to which we honorable councilors should pass and forward to the attorney general such that it can be gazetted and thereafter the city gains mandate to ensure effective transport management”. Hon. Nalumaga said.

The honorable councilors asked the speaker to first give them ample time to analyze the details of the ordinance before being gazetted.

The councilors said, even though the stated rules and regulations are good and can minimize accidents in the city, they will not rush to gazette the ordinance before analyzing the details of the document.

Most of the accidents in Hoima city have been caused by overspeeding sugar cane trucks passing through the city roads, with over 10 deaths reported within a period of less than a month.

“We can not pass an ordinance without analyzing its details because our voters outside will start asking us what did we pass on yet we don’t know, am sure the next council is there in February I don’t see why we are in hurry to pass this document”. Said the Honorable councilors.

Meanwhile the Hoima city RCC Hon. Samuel Kisembo Araali asked the city council authorities to come up with some rules that will govern the transportation of sugar cane in the city through gazetting some roads in Hoima city for the Sugar cane transporters.