The long awaited Entebbe Stages Conductors and Drivers Association (ESCADA) elections that had been scheduled to take place on Thursday at Nsambya Sharing hall were abruptly called off by the Regional Police Commander Kampala Metropolitan Police South SP Geoffrey Kaheebwa. In his letter dated 24/08/2016 and addressed to the Chairman Entebbe Taxi Stages Stephen Kidde, Kaheebwa called off the voting citing need to maintain guidance given for the interim committee and other stake holders such as Police and KCCA to stream line the Taxi Industry. However Kidde and the Kampala Operational Taxi Stages Association (KOTSA) an umbrella body where ESCADA is an affiliate quickly disagreed with Kaheebwa’s decision and revealed that a one Richard Kiyaga, Mustafa Mayambala and their faction used their influence to block the polls.
We aware that Kiyaga Richard and his faction used their influence to block the polls. We have managed to get the letter that he wrote notifying all Taxi drivers that the elections wouldn’t take place. But for us as ESCADA, KOTSA and Amalgamated General Transport and Workers Union (AGTWU) wanted the elections to take place because as per our constitution our five year mandate as ESCADA Leadership expired and all we wanted was to give the Taxi Drivers and Conductors a chance to elect their new set of leaders, Kidde stated.
We know Kiyaga Richard is fighting tooth and nail to take charge of the Entebbe Taxi affairs because six years ago he was the Secretary General and now he is nowhere, Kidde added.
Kidde’s position was reechoed by the KOTSA Chairman Yasin Ssematimba who called on Kiyaga and his faction to stop splitting ESCADA.
We tried our best to bring back Kiyaga, Mayambala and their faction. Some agreed and are now working with us but others are still with Kiyaga and Mayambala and are fighting tooth and nail to split the Association. They are using police and other government institutions to frustrate us but we shall not back off, Ssematimba explained.
Kidde and his committee who have the biggest majority of the Taxi Drivers and Conductors unlike Kiyaga and Mayambala’s faction will run the Entebbe Taxi affairs until when government deems it fit for them to hold their elections.
Meanwhile other issues that were raised during the General Assembly meeting include;
The Shs30m monthly revenue that ESCADA remits to Entebbe Municipal Council. ESCADA leadership wants the monthly fees sliced to Shs15m because a new player pioneer Easy Bus has joined the Entebbe-Kampala route.
Though Municipal Council hasn’t yet renewed our contract, we want them to slice the Shs30m that they levy from us to Shs15m because Pioneer Easy Bus has started plying the Entebbe-Kampala Route and they are only paying Shs6m as monthly fees to Municipal Council. Our biggest challenge with the Buses is that they have failed to respect the agreed conditions in the agreement that they signed with Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The agreement they signed with CAA only gives the Buses three stop-overs (Kawuku, Kajjansi and Queen’s Way/Katwe) but they have failed to honor the agreement because they park at every stage load and offload passengers, Kidde explained.
Kidde also revealed that an illegal stage has been created at the Children’s park by the private cars that transport passengers to Kampala at Shs2000. Kidde revealed that the stage is illegal however the Division ‘A’ Municipal Council staff are supportive of the stage.
