President Museveni has supported a proposal by the Ministry of Transport to stop the auction of the Pioneer Easy Buses Limited (PEBL) and instead find ways of encouraging bus transport in the city.
KCCA Executive Director Jennifer Musisi was also present
The president made the directive on Sunday at state house, Entebbe while addressing shareholders in the city transport sector that included Minister of security-Muruli Mukasa and KCCA executive director -Jennifer Musisi.
The president said the buses are trying to solve the issue of congestion in the city by providing vehicles with wider bodies without many engines. He went ahead to ask; “If the government wants to decongest the city isn’t it in public interest that people import buses tax free?”
In February, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) attached the Orange and Black Pioneer Easy buses over tax arrears. The URA served a warrant of distress to the bus company for failure to clear Shs8 billion tax arrears and threatened to auction the company’s property.
The president wants the auction stopped and the company allowed to pay its tax arrears in affordable installments. The president was however against guaranteeing a loan for pioneer easy bus company, he said in the event they fail to pay this will become a public debt.