Members on the board of Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) did not agree on the decision to hike parking fees at Entebbe Airport by nearly 100%, sources have told Bbeg Media.
The request to hike the fees had been tabled by management led by Fred Bamwesigye, the UCAA director general but in a meeting, some board members expressed reservations about the hike.
But Bamwesigye reportedly pushed for the hike saying that with the expansion of the airport, maintenance costs had shot up and there was no other way they could have got extra money to cover the shortfall.
Some members had suggested that UCAA instead asks for a budget increase from government to cover the shortfall fearing that the drastic hike in parking fees could scare many users.
Sources said Bamwesigye laughed off this concern pointing to the rising numbers of people using the airport.
‘They will have to pay the new fees whether they like or not because they have no other option of they want to travel out of the country,” Bamwesigye said.
In the end, Bamwesigye’s view prevailed but there were some voices of discontent.
The UCAA board is chaired by former deputy chief justice, Steven Kavuma. Other members are: John Bulindi, Mrs. Ethel Kamba, Dr. Andrew Alyao Ocero and Ssemugooma Godfrey, Thomas James Kiggundu, Namubiru Sylvia and Paul Moses Lubowa.
In a notice, UCAA said the new fees will take effect on November 1, 2024.
Saloon cars that have been paying Shs 2,000 per hour will now pay Shs 5,000 for every hour. Each additional hour they will fork out Shs 1000.
Mini-buses will pay Shs 8000 per hour. Previously, they paid Shs 4,000. Trucks and lorries will now have to pay Shs 10,000 per hour for parking from Shs 5,000.
Long term parking has been increased from Shs 10,000 per day to Shs 30,000.
Predictably, the new charges have set social media on fire with many people saying the increase was unreasonable.
“May thunder come and strike the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority employee who authorised this nonsense. Even the 2K was already annoying, now see,” tweeted journalist Abubaker Lubowa.
Sam Taremwa described the decision as “ridiculous.”
“As of yesterday (October 20) the ticket issuing machines at the entrance had issues and cards were being issued manually .. Today u grace us with triple the price.”
Another described the increment as a “scam” how can you increase parking long term parking fees from 10k to 30k, I think MoWt should get involved in this matter.
In defence, UCAA said the current fee structure had remained unchanged for over 15 years and yet operation costs were rising.
“This long-standing rate, coupled with rising maintenance costs over time, justifies the recent increment. Regular updates to these fees are necessary to ensure the continued upkeep and enhancement of the parking area for the benefit of all airport users,” the body said.
Daniel Obal said UCAA’s increment was the wrong approach.
“Check what services other airports provide for long parking for up to 90 days at a rate of R50 equivalent of 10k UGX. They wash, polish the car and even cover it within that cost and warm engine. U guys don’t cover, polish or wash. Battery dies too,” he wrote.
