TAXI OWNER, DRIVERS FIGHT PARALYSES TRANSPORT IN MASINDI

By Yosam Gucwaki
www.mknewslink.com
In Masindi
Business at Masindi Taxi Park came to a standstill this morning as drivers and one of the taxi owners in Masindi town blocked the entrance to the park.
Tom Bagonza is said to have used his taxis to block other taxis from leaving the park in protest of the new Masindi- Kampala route chart that was launched by the taxi drivers and the management of the park yesterday.
In the new chart the drivers and park management replaced vehicle numbers with drivers names which the taxi owners do not agree with.
Bagonzas action sparked off a scuffle between him and the drivers which lasted for over an hour and ended after the intervention of police and Masindi municipality mayor Joab Businge.
The drivers who declined to be named defended replacing vehicle numbers with drivers names saying it is the drivers are attached to their vehicles they also accused the taxi owners of failing to oppose the new change during its drafting and did it when it became operational.
Other drivers accused the taxi owners of pushing use of vehicle numbers in the route chart instead of drivers names with the aim of dominating the taxi business in the town and suppressing the drivers.
The Mayor Masindi Municipality JoabBusinge revealed that the municipality leaders had organized a meeting of the two parties aimed at resolving the matter.
Efforts to talk to Bagonza on the matter were futile as he told www.mknewslink.com reporter that he was heading for a meeting on the same matter.
At the time of filing this story the two parties were in a meeting over the matter at RDCs office as taxis resumed operating normally with police deployment.

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