President Museveni yesterday celebrated his 81st birthday with a vow to protect boda boda riders from exploitative boda loans and moneylenders.
The birthday celebrations at Kol0lo ceremonial grounds were held concurrently with the first-ever Boda Union Festival and Expo.
“My agreement with the boda bodas is that it is criminal for someone to give you a rabbit and then demand a cow in return. Moneylenders give you Shs5 million and expect Shs15 million back. That is robbery,” he said, adding that high interest rates have made moneylenders “enemies of progress” across sectors, including agriculture.
He explained that this is why the government introduced the Parish Development Model (PDM), which offers low-interest financing.
“If we give you Shs1 million, you pay back just Shs1,125,000 after two years. We have applied the same arrangement for the ghetto and now for the Boda Bodas,” he said.
Museveni also announced support to the industry and revealed that the State House Comptroller, Jane Barekye will certify all Boda Boda SACCOs to ensure accountability and prevent selfish individuals from misusing funds.
The First Lady Janet Museveni congratulated the president for reaching his 81st birthday. She urged Ugandans to embrace unity as the bedrock of transformation.
“Africa was blessed with abundant resources, but we have remained poor because we fight among ourselves. Now, by God’s grace, Uganda has been given the wisdom to form a union — to bring us together. When we unite, we will be unstoppable,” she said.
“God has used the president to lay a firm foundation for the Boda Bodas, the taxis, and for families across Uganda. It is now upon us to build on that foundation and create a nation that is truly unstoppable.”
Frank Mawejje, chairperson of the United Riders Cooperative Union (URCU), revealed that the recent patriotism training at Kaweweta gave riders the knowledge to run their unions more professionally.
He said unlike in the past when SACCOs would collapse, they now employ accountants and lawyers to ensure proper management.
He announced plans to establish “Union Villages” to help members own homes instead of spending their entire lives riding without a place to call their own.
Rashid Sekindi, chairperson of the Uganda Taxi Operators Federation (UTOF) requested the president to officially launch the new taxi park in Kampala and thanked him for expanding the road network and harmonizing the previously divided taxi industry.
