Ibrahim Kayondo, the Secretary General of the United Bus Driver’s Association (UBDA) has blamed the persistent road crashes on poor remuneration of the drivers.
“Bus companies do not pay, and those that pay are paying peanuts, people are working on wages no salary,” he said
“This leaves people with a problem of mental health; someone is having problems for example at home, you find that there is little or no concentration at all leading to the crashes,” he added
Kayondo was yesterday addressing journalists about road safety in the bus industry during the media training on covering road safety in Uganda at the offices of the African Centre for Media Excellence in Kampala.
The country has lately seen a rise in the number of bus accidents, with the most recent one being yesterday (Tuesday), where two buses rammed into each other in Bukedea, killing three.
Kayondo said that they as UBDA are helpless since Uganda is a liberalized economy where private sector determines the market forces.
“Ideally basing on the current inflation, we as UBDA think that an average driver should be earning Shs2m from the Shs500,000 they are getting now. We drivers don’t have job security as well,” he said
“We have tried engaging the ministry of works and transport, Parliament but all in vain; we at least want the president to sign the minimum wage Bill so that the salaries of drivers are enhanced,” he added
Kayondo however, also acknowledged other factors causing bus accidents, including reckless driving by some incompetent unqualified drivers, conditions of vehicles and the nature of the roads.
“We have training schools yes, but who are the tutors there, where did they learn from? We need to professionalize this Driving Course, by establishing sounding institutions, with proper curriculum,” he said
