Following the removal presidential age limits in 2018, a number of Ugandans are increasingly demanding that the same applies to other professions.
The latest are bus drivers who are calling for the scrapping off of age limit on their driver’s licenses, arguing age limit as proposed in the new law will leave them more impoverished.
They say that the conditions in the industry are appalling so much that they have to work for daily bread even in the old age.
The bus drivers under their umbrella body, United Bus Drivers Association made the remarks today while appearing before the Parliamentary Physical Infrastructure Committee to present their views on The Traffic and Road Safety Amendment Bill 2019 that seeks to amend the 1998 Act.
In a statement presented by their Chairperson, Yunus Kiggundu, the bus drivers said that some of these laws are just pushing them into incarceration because they aren’t protective of drivers.
“We as bus drivers, we are considering removing age limit; they put us on 65 years; a man of 65 years can have kids and from our survey, mature people drive better than young ones. We are requesting you remove age limit,” Kiggundu said.
Felix Odongkara, the Chief Executive Officer of Automobile Association Uganda commended Government for finally moving swiftly to amend the 1998 Act which he said had a number of loopholes but said the fines proposed are too astronomical.
“Our main concern is on the fines and penalties where a fine would have been Shs200,000 now it has been increased to Shs6m. We find the increment so astronomical and it isn’t in line with inflation. These laws are too punitive for anybody to bear. The committee should be able to reconsider the fines and jailing of the persons,” he said.
He was commenting on a proposal in the Bill that stipulates, “A person who causes the death of any person by reckless driving of a motor vehicle, trailer or engineering plant commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to imprisonment of not exceeding ten years.”
There is a proposal to amend Section 119 of the current act with new measures on careless or inconsiderate use of motor vehicle with the new proposal stipulating, “Every person who uses, parks or stands a motor vehicle, trailer or engineering plant on any road carelessly or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of not less than five currency points and not exceeding thirty currency points or imprisonment of not less than one month and not exceeding one year or both.”
The new proposal has increased the fine to Shs6M and imprisonment not exceeding six months given that each currency point is equivalent to Shs20,000 and the new proposal puts the fine at 300 currency points up from the 30 currency points and one month imprisonment in the current law.
