KISORO BODA-BODA OPERATORS PROTEST HIGH COST OF ACQUIRING RIDING PERMIT

By Byamukama Libino
KISORO DISTRICT

A number of boda boda riders in Kisoro municipality yesterday staged a peaceful protest against what they termed as exorbitant charges by Uganda Drivers Licensing System (UDLS) to access driving Permits.
The angry boda boda riders accused Uganda Drivers Licensing System officials of charging them over 400,000 shilling for a driving permit saying the money is too much. They allege that UDLS didn’t give them ample time to pay the required fees for the permits.
The group rode their motorcycles hooding from Bunagana stage up to their plot of land in Chahi village, Kisoro municipality. They later returned back and calmed down without police’s intervention. They vowed to resume protest should traffic police start cracking a whip on riders without driving permits

Officials from Uganda Drivers Licensing System (UDLS) declined to speak to our reporter about the accusations. They however, provided a chart containing the rates for driving permits. On the chart, a new driving permit costs 330,000 shillings for five years.
In the same protest, the group also claimed that their leadership is not giving them clear accountability for their association body, Kisoro united Boda Boda association (KUBO).
They demanded an explanation and accountability on money that is said to have been spent on a hotel being constructed using their association’s savings.
Meanwhile, Kisoro United Boda Boda Operators chairperson Kalangala Robert who had earlier promised to give a comment over the same matter couldn’t be reached at the time we filed the story.