Koboko Taxi Operators Demonstrate Over Tender

Activities at the Koboko Municipal Council offices were paralysed on Monday morning after more than 50 drivers staged a demonstration to protest the award of the taxi park tender to Hotel Delambiance Limited.

The drivers under their umbrella, Koboko Taxi Operators and Drivers Association stormed the municipality headquarters demanding an explanation on the award of the taxi park to the tenderer.

The demonstration came after Koboko Municipal council awarded the taxi park tender to Hotel Delambiance Limited for the current financial year, a decision didn't go down well with the taxi drivers who have been caretaking.

Patrick Ngota, one of the concerned taxi drivers, says they haven’t benefited from the taxi park where they have been managing for the past one year.

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Meanwhile, Samuel Metaloro, another taxi operator wonders why the municipal officials gave out the tender to a new company contrary to the directive by president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. 

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Ratib Muki, the Public Relations Officer for the association accuses the municipality of awarding the taxi park tender to a company that have never invested in the taxi business. He further noted that the awarding process was untrustworthy.

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However, the proprietor of Hotel Delambiance insists that they won the tender through a competitive bidding process and there were no corruption tendencies involved.

When contacted by URN over the awarding of the tender, Wilson Sanya, the mayor Koboko Municipality declined to comment over the matter. By the time of filling the story, the municipal and security officials were locked in an emergency meeting to try and resolve the matter.