The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Fort Portal, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Interim Mayor of Fort Portal Tourism City Rev Willy Kintu Muhanga has written to the City Clerk, asking him not to extend the contract of the street parking.
The said contract was awarded by Fort Portal Municipal Council in August 2019, to Woodfix Technical Services, to collect local revenue on the streets of Fort Portal Town. However, a few months later, motorists accused the company of inflating the fees, double charging vehicle owners and failing to sensitize the public about the parking system.
They said the company was as forcing vehicle-owners to buy parking coupons of 2,000 Shillings and refusing the 500 Shillings fees per hour. Also, the company was double-charging motorists for parking on different sides of the street within an hour and those who would refuse to pay were fined a sum of up to 5,000 Shillings after 48 hours.
Amidst the public uproar, the company’s contract ended in August 2020. But due to the lockdown that had been occasioned by an outbreak of COVID-19, it was extended twice up to December to enable the contractor to compensate for the lost months. The Town Clerk, however, says that there is currently no money to advertise for another contractor.
But Muhanga has advised against any further extension because the company has been charging the motorists exorbitantly in contravention of the agreement its owners signed with the council. The mayor argues that since Ahimbisibwe says there is no money to advertise for another contractor, the city council, for the meantime, can take over the job because it has the required workforce.
“Giving a third extension to the same contractor is a disservice to the people of Fort Portal and depriving them of their happy stay in the city,” Muhanga adds. The Fort Portal Deputy City Clerk, John Bosco Rusoke, says they have received Muhanga’s letter and are yet to respond.
However, Christopher Kasozi, the Woodfix Manager, says whatever they have been doing has been within the contract they signed.
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