Prime
Operation Fiika Salaama campaign launched to reduce road carnage
The Minister of Works and Transport ,Eng. Monica Azuba Ntege (Right), together with Ms. Allen Kagina, the UNRA Executive Director (L). Photo by Sadat Mbogo.
What you need to know:
The immediate plan to stop road carnage is to use “Fiika Salaama” operation where traffic police shall arrest, detain, prosecute and charge all “silly” road users. She also added that to succeed with the campaign, more Highway patrol cars shall be put along Kampala-Masaka road for easy monitoring and supervision, six traffic checkpoints shall be put in place along Masaka-Mbarara road where most of the accidents happened in the last five years.
MPIGI.
The Traffic Police in Uganda in partnership with the Ministry of Works and Transport and the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) have launched an operation dubbed “Fiika Salaama” (reach safely) on Kampala – Masaka Highway intended to sensitise and discipline road users on safety and infrastructure protection.
While launching the campaign on Friday, the Minister of Works and Transport ,Eng. Monica Azuba Ntege, together with Ms. Allen Kagina, the UNRA Executive Director and Police in Katonga Region, started with inspecting all the black spots along Kampala-Masaka Highway before speaking to journalists at the Uganda Equator.
The minister said “Fiika Salaama” operation will be a continuous campaign and shall be extended to all major Highways in the country.
“80% of the accidents are caused by human errors. I don’t know whether accidents are caused due to good roads provided by our government. This time, the punishment shall be taking all incompetent drivers to courts of law. We have suspended this tendency of giving them EPS tickets.” Ms Azuba said.
She revealed that the immediate plan to stop road carnage is to use “Fiika Salaama” operation where traffic police shall arrest, detain, prosecute and charge all “silly” road users. She also added that to succeed with the campaign, more Highway patrol cars shall be put along Kampala-Masaka road for easy monitoring and supervision, six traffic checkpoints shall be put in place along Masaka-Mbarara road where most of the accidents happened in the last five years.
“These checkpoints shall cover a-24-hour road surveillance and will be moving from one place to another in the next six months. We shall not allow stationery checkpoints,” Ms Azuba added.
Mr. Anthony Emodingo, the Assistant Commissioner of Police for Traffic and Road Safety Directorate reported to the minister on behalf of Dr. Steven Kasiima, the Traffic Director in Uganda that: “At least 82 drivers were arrested during the first day of this operation whereby; 20 cases were reported at Mpigi Central Police Station, 13 at Kamengo Police Station, 06 at Buwama Police Station, 10 at Kayabwe Police Post, 07 at Lukaya Police Post and 26 at Masaka Central Police Station. Most of them were charged with dangerous loading, driving without permits, carelessness and issues of having tinted cars and failing to stop at the available check points.”
