Starting next year, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) says it will introduce road user fees levied on all vehicles accessing the city.
KCCA Executive Director, Jennifer Musisi says this is one of the ways of reducing traffic congestion within the city centre.
Musisi notes that some of the roads entering the city, majorly connecting from the major highways are sequentially damaged due to the heavy vehicles like trailers and trucks that carry heavy load.
She says the fees collected from the vehicles will be allocated towards rehabilitation and construction of city roads. Charges are expected to be levied according to the vehicle weight and distance traveled.
Musisi said it is a practice allover the globe for developed cities to charge parking fees as well as road user fees to generate revenue to maintain the city roads and services.
Musisi was however non-committal on the roads where the user fees will be charged, saying the final details will be released at the beginning of January, 2016.
In 2008, government scrapped the road license fees, charged on all motorists and incorporated into fuel prices remitted to the road fund set up to manage road construction and rehabilitation.
“Our revenue collections have not been very good this financial year. Government also cut Shs 35bn from our budget so we need to find means to raise revenue,” Musisi says.
Musisi says the authority is also considering increasing street parking fees within the centre. The proposals are contained in the Kampala Physical Development Plan (PDP), which covers the city’s development between 2012 and 2040.
