Boda Boda Associations in Kampala have continued with the parallel registration of their members following the delayed kick-off of the government program.
On February 12, 2022, the State Minister for Kampala Kabuye Kyofatogabye issued guidelines for operations of Boda Bodas noting that the government would start registering them on March 1st, 2022 through the offices of Resident City Commissioners-RCC.
However, the process has not yet started despite claims by the minister that the exercise kicked off even before March. “Registration is a continuous process, it has been there and is still ongoing. The RCCs are working with Boda Boda leaders to register riders right from their stages, ” said the Minister in a phone interview.
During the February announcement, Kyofatogabye said that the government would conduct an independent registration process involving all Boda boda Associations like Ffefeka Kawempe Boda Boda Association and smart Boda companies like Safe Boda.
However, contrary to what the Minister announced, independent registration, spearheaded by RCCs has not started. Currently, individual groups like KBA and Boda Boda Association Uganda are conducting the registration of their members.
Godfrey Tumusime, the Vice-Chairperson of Smart Boda Association in Kawempe says that they united with more than five other associations to form KBA Fenna Boda Boda Association, under which they are registering riders.
He says since the Minister made the announcement in February, they have not received any further instructions or guidance hence the continued registration process. KBA registers riders through the leadership of their stages.
The riders register at Shillings 35,000 part of which Tumusime says is used to get the riders reflector jackets with a bar code containing their personal details.
Tumusime says they started the registration after holding several meetings with officials from KCCA, Ministry of Transport and Works and Security during which they were asked to organise in six months ending February 2022.
However, before the six months could elapse and an assessment is done, the announcement of a new process, which is yet to start, was made. He says the government hasn’t started its own registration process.
When Minister Kabuye Kyofatogabye made the announcement in February, he said that all riders would have to register through a central process. He was however non-committal on the issue of registration by associations.
Apart from KBA, Boda Boda Industry Uganda Association is also registering riders. The Association Chairperson, Siraje Mutyaba says that they are using structures at parish and stage leadership to conduct the exercise.
As associations continue to register riders, there is uncertainty on the future of the exercise since the government has not endorsed it. The two major groups conducting the registration are dismissing each other’s efforts.
Both groups claim legitimacy. Tumusiime says government officials should investigate the operations of both associations to establish whether they indeed exist and are registering numbers.
On his part, Mutyaba also dismissed the KBA group, claiming that they are the only legit association advocating for better systems to organise the Boda Boda industry.
Ricky Thompson Rapa, the Executive Director of Safe Boda Company, says that most recent engagements they have had with government officials regarded regulations for transporters using digital platforms. Rapa observes that the major challenge faced by the Boda Boda Industry is the lack of proper regulation to guide operations of the riders, including those using digital platforms.
He says, before the government concluded drafting regulations to guide operations of the Boda Boda Industry, an ultimatum was issued for Boda Bodas to self Organise, and before that too could be met, the Minister made an announcement that the Central government shall register riders.
Rapa says that the government needs to streamline regulations to guide the registration of Boda Boda riders, who qualifies to be a rider, leadership, expectations by government in terms of revenue and how riders can be supported.
The Deputy RCC for Lubaga Division Herbert Anderson Buroora, says the registration has not yet started, adding that for now, all his office is doing is to sensitize riders on government plans to organise the Boda Boda Industry.
He says he is working with local leaders, KCCA, Security and Boda Boda riders to carry out the sensitization campaigns. Buroora says the government shall give further guidance on registration soon.
This is not the first time government has attempted to register Boda Bodas. The most recent attempt was in 2020 after the registration of taxis. The exercise was suspended after the riders protested against the stages that the government had gazetted.