Kampala’s BRT at this stage is a pipe-dream!

The Bus Rapid Transport system together with a Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (MATA), in the midst of the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), Kampala City Hall and Ministry of Kampala. This are having different heads combined with the mastermind on the top President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. Doesn’t matter what the ones in the parishes are considering, the Division Mayors, Lord Mayor Lukwago, KCCA Director Musisi or even State Minister Kamya. The one rubber-stamping the initiatives is and will be the President. Since he has his finger into everything.

That is why I have no faith in BRT. Even if it is stop the congestion, the lack of public transport in Kampala and problems of control of the Boda-Boda’s, the authority of the Taxi’s and the Specials. There are still significant issues to be reached. It doesn’t matter if they are banning or stopping certain transport options. As long as the ones working, are the taxis and boda-boda’s. These are the ones who has designated routes and travels with licensing for their routes. The Taxis are usually used Toyota Hiace imported from Japan, second-hand ones who was former bread-trucks, who are rebuilt to fit as many people as possible.

While a BRT means there will be heavy investments in stages, in divisions and in congested areas to fit the paradigm of buses. It isn’t barely putting buses on the road and assume the population will start taking it. The need for steady implementation of road structure, of bus-companies, of driving schools and of time-tables has to be put on order to make sense for the citizens to use it. Since it needs to be better than the transportation options that are today, like the taxis, boda-boda’s and specials. At this stage the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) in their feasibility study estimates the needed funds to get it going at this point to be the staggering $612.06 Million. With today’s value of the Uganda Shillings it is about Shs. 2,193,883,999,999 UGX, in other terms over 2.1 trillion shillings. Which means one tenth of the Financial Year budget of 21 Trillion Shillings in FY 2017/2018. Just to put in perspective.

This infrastructure project of this size and ramification better make the roads of Kampala into bricks out of gold. Clear every single pothole and make sure the gravel grade more than standard. This project has been going on for ages without any movement or significant progress. Why I am writing about it, well there suddenly if it is true, some Chinese Investors who wants to touch the erratic transport system of Kampala. This are together with the Chinese Ambassador to Uganda, at the State House discussing investments into it. Therefore, the sudden move of actual fueled money into it. As the 2.1 Trillion shillings doesn’t grow on trees.

President Museveni stated this today:

“The Kampala Metropolitan Rapid Bus Transport project is a necessity. We should not continue to have so many cars with limited capacity” (…) “The investor will construct 26 rapid bus stations, 420 stage shelters and an initial 400 buses with a carting capacity of 74 passengers” (Museveni, 18.06.2017).

With this unknown Chinese Investor, they are clearly indicating some infrastructure and some buses to put up. If this will see the light of day and will be honestly implemented, than there are start, but it takes time to find routes and needed ways to make it profitable, as there will also be lost oppertunities for the ones who used taxis, specials and boda-boda’s on these roads. That is if this isn’t a scheme and plot of manufacturing more monies through the state-house. Which wouldn’t be surprising knowing how the President often operate.

The BRT would be a bonus and strengthen the congestive traffic of Kampala, a needed one for more time working and less time stuck in traffic jams. It would be important for the citizens leaving the divisions and traveling across town to work. But the state haven’t been able in the recent years to pull it off. Maybe Chinese investments would help it and their involvement in it would see it moving. But it shouldn’t just be the President’s blessings over the investments. The KCCA, Ministry of Kampala and City Hall should all have a say and make reports on how to build it properly. As the UIA even states there have only been a feasibility-study. That is preparation for the solution, but not the white paper or even framework for the Divisions or Central Business District of Kampala to make the BRT a success. Right now it is dream, which most likely could turn into a nightmare before its shuttle.

NAMA Proposals in 2013 are even more costly: “The capital costs budgeted over the 15 year period were estimated to total some US$ 1.181 Billion”. That is the double of the estimates from UIA in 2017. Therefore, something has either been scaled down or the NAMA was considering more aspects in their plans, than the UIA has. But is not like the President today has delivered any paperwork or reveled any sort of information what sort of possible deal he done with the “the Investor”. He could be scapegoat or even a mirage for all we know. Because none is on the up and up.

Especially considering he had a meeting with them at the State House in Entebbe with none of the leadership of Kampala. The ones in Kampala will just later get the news of the building and investments, therefore has to figure out how to implement it and work-out the perks. Parts of me wonder if the President even has looked into the documentation and considered the needed partners in play. But that is just how the President operates. He just can build Rome on his own or Kampala for that matter. He has all the skills and the brown envelopes at his disposal. Peace.

What NRM’s #Steady Progress really is…

We all know that the election is going on and that NRM have a campaign slogan as such: “Steady Progress”. This is the time when NRM is telling in each district they visit about the 29 years of “steady progress”. Well, I will not, I am not NRM. And not a great fan of the NRM. As those of you who read my page/blog should understand by now. I will show another story of the #Steady Progress have been under the NRM and Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s presidency.

#Steady Progress under the NRM-Regime is that there been violence and arresting the opposition leaders with different claims. And have rhetoric that attacks others then look into their own missteps. Especially when Mzee hear the reports of the violence were from NRM-Supporters together with the Police in an area (Ntungamo clashes for instance). There isn’t the first time the President Museveni spreads fear in the name of democracy and not the last. He can put his words into a leopard’s mouth and see if the animal bites.

#Steady Progress is to have close hospitals in the weekends and having no nurses at the referral hospital in the districts. #SteadyProgess is to suspend health workers after showing the terrible working condition of the Health Care facility.

#Steady Progress is to use the colonial law of preventative arrest when it fits the NRM-Regime and if it fits the new law Public Order Management Act then the Police will take care off or silence Political Opposition leader, Human Rights Activist or even random pedestrians.

#Steady Progress is that the police tells the world and journalist on how to conduct themselves and how to be a part of campaign convoys of the opposition leaders.

#Steady Progress is that the Police are interfering in Opposition leader’s rallies instead of securing them.

#Steady Progress is to give a higher pay-rise to the Electoral Commission chairman from 6 million shillings a month to 35 million shillings each month.

#Steady Progress is first to lose the money to sustain and make the National ID cards, and not give them to the citizens. Then later deliver this to the Internal Displaced People in the camps and also immigrants from neighbor countries then the initial voters and citizens of the country.

#Steady Progress is to have terrible roads in and around the villages. #Steady Progress is to finally have rail system working between Kampala – Namanve, but not for the rest of the country, and it had to happen right before the election.

#Steady Progress is to go into neighbor countries with the army without international mandate for securing the friends and caretakers of nations around to secure loyalty to the President of Uganda, not to secure Uganda.

#Steady Progress is to make the currency weaker and weaker. #Steady Progress is to make the Bank of Uganda a personal visa card for the government because of the new amendments to the Public Finance Bill of 2015.

#Steady Progress is to make the nomination of candidates for elections more expensive so only the ones that are friends and cronies of the President will be sure of having the funding and support to stay on as candidates.

#Steady Progress is to bankrupt the national airliner and still only have on international airport in the country, also to get British Airways to cancel their flights to Entebbe and stopping fly to it after the set date of contract with the Airport.

#Steady Progress is to give away expensive cars to Regional District Commanders to ensure the safety of NRM and not the people of the northern regions.

#Steady Progress is to promise loyal cronies more districts and sub-counties to secure loyal men in charge over areas and make the opposition unsure of the new constituency.

#Steady Progress is to have a chaotic internal elections with pre-ticked ballots, late ballot delivery, wrong names on the ballot, stealing the forms for final counting, winners jailed for misconduct, bribing voters in villages to vote for candidates, letting members of other parties vote in the internal ones, sole candidacy in many constituencies and also clear indication of rigged for loyal Mzee men and woman.

#Steady Progress is to land as hunting-grounds or for services rendered for the government either to the likes of Aga Khan or other foreigners, even trade of forests and mineral rich land, to get it pocketed while the Government of Uganda can.

#Steady Progress is to borrow more and more money to fund the aid deficit created by the “Anti-Gay-Bill” fiasco. That left a vacuum from foreign interest together with the strategic loss of partners to sustain their aid to the country and picking other feasible projects there.

#Steady Progress is give money to religious leaders to secure their congregation who their God has picked as leader and who their lord has anointed to the position.

#Steady Progress is to get a bigger government and more ministries so that all the ones closes and most loyal get a place in the central government.

#Steady Progress is to give a person the role of ministry without a portfolio or office

#Steady Progress is to use more on private plans and military equipment then on basic school kits, school buildings or even medical supplies.

#Steady Progress is for the President to claim again and again that he is the only Mzee who can keep the country safe and keep control of the army.

#Steady Progress is to have old medicine or copy medication instead of having extra supplies through the NMS.

#Steady Progress is to have ghost-workers, ghost-voters, ghost-schools, ghost-roads or ghost-expenditure.

#Steady progress is to fire all of the UNRA workers and getting the funding for bigger projects through the World Bank cancelled.

#Steady Progress is to see that Uganda Human Rights Commission loses it funding from it’s donors.

#Steady Progress is to hire “Crime Preventers” as securing votes and create havoc in other candidate’s rallies to make sure that people stay loyal to the Mzee, and also ship them from NRM rally to NRM rally to make the party look more popular.

#Steady Progress is to have more and more car accidents on the bad roads, even lose the lives of more Members of Parliament due to bad roads in the districts.

#Steady Progress is for the rich and for the wealthy to take their family members or themselves to health facilities abroad to heal and prosper.

#Steady Progress is to borrow money on the future-oil monies and trade of the oil refinery from Russian state-owned company to buy military equipment.

#Steady Progress is to lose battalions and soldiers in Somalia and leave new recruits with little or no supply. The army in Somalia has to sell equipment for food and necessities; instead of fighting the terrorist group Al-Shabab.

#Steady Progress is that landslides after heavy rains and floods have no covering or security funds from the government nor any restrictions or helping agents to save lives on that matter.

#Steady Progress is given funds of 51 billion to the post-election violence for the Police and army for the “excuse” to secure the safety and peace in the country.

#Steady Progress is to tear down other candidates posters while sealing off and securing with Police force the incumbent presidential candidates ones on the walls.

#Steady Progress is to use a tiny fortune to make a gig-song and have singers on the campaign trail.

#Steady Progress is to pay boda-boda men in town and villages to not drive to opposition rallies.

#Steady Progress is to have a rising inflation and devalue the currency before and after every election time, leading the results for more expensive fuel, food and living prices in general. 

#Steady Progress is to send SMS’s to everybody to tell them to VOTE MZEE, even if they don’t are NRM members or belongs with the Party, instead he sends to all Ugandans in the companies to gain support.

#Steady Progress is to pay boda-boda drivers to drive people to Mzee’s venues, give away t-shirts, give away free fuel, feed the public food and give money to the attendance of the crowd.

#Steady Progress is to use 500 billion shillings for campaigning for the presidential candidate, to give out handouts to loyal men and woman in the districts, cars to chiefs and other gifts of that nature to feed the loyal NRM people in up-country and the rest of the country.

#Steady Progress is to close off transmitter of radios who send messages opposing the NRM-Regime.

#Steady Progress is to deliver a campaign package of 20 million shillings to NRM Parliamentary candidates.

We can all see and this a gist of the actions and events leading up to the 29 years of #Steady Progress from Mzee and his NRM party. This was certainly not the things he fought for in the bush-war or the idea he sold at the time. It has surely changed. I could have displayed all the corruption cases, embezzlements and such, but as I said this gist of the actions from the NRM party and Mzee. We have not taken in account his foreign adventures and military actions, or all the people that have been left behind. Peace.

Press Release: URC, KCCA and RVRU resume Passanger Rail Service in Kampala (02.12.2015)

They have done it before, take a look:

In 2012:

“The Ministry of Transport at the weekend authorised the Rift Valley Railways (RVR) to temporarily run passenger rail services in a move to add pressure on striking taxi drivers.RVR will transport passengers Monday to Friday, from Namanve to Kampala and back at Shs1,500. In the morning, there are two shifts that depart Namanve at 7am and 8am. Evening shifts leave Kampala at 5:30pm and 7pm. Each shift can transport 550 passengers using five coaches”.

Quick thinking:

So they have done it before, will be able to do it now? Secondly, how long will it last before it break down or the money is gone and the trains lay astray somewhere? Peace.