Overview:
In the letter dated November 22, 2023, the President said giving the City Bus Service deal to Katabazi is part of government deliberate effort to promote local investors.
President Museveni has directed Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja to work with the Works and Transport ministry and grant Mr Metu Katabazi, a local businessman, exclusive rights to manage the Mass Transit Service for buses in the Kampala and the surrounding towns.
Mr Katabazi runs METU Industries that manufactures and assembles buses at their plant in Kasese.
In the letter dated November 22, 2023, the President said giving the City Bus Service deal to Katabazi is part of government deliberate effort to promote local investors.
“This is to direct you to give exclusive permission to Mr. Metu Katabazi to manage Mass Transit Service for buses in the Kampala and the surrounding towns using the buses he has fabricated in Uganda,” his letter reads in part.
He said while there are other players that wanted to run that City Bus Service, even using locally fabricated buses, “however, to further empower our manufacturing sector, it is better Mr. Metu does both – the fabrication and the transport operation.”
Why? Two reasons. First of all, it gives him more cash for expanding our manufacturing. Secondly, do not forget that foreign Service providers, transporters in this case, externalize some of money they earn in Uganda_ When, therefore, you have an actor that both produces the goods (vehicles in this case) and provides the service (transport), you should not miss such optimal combination.
“Therefore, Mr Metu is to both fabricate the buses and run the transport service. If his transport service needs more buses than those he is manufacturing, he should, then, only buy from Kiira Motors. He should never import foreign made buses to use in this transport business,” he added.
The letter is also copied to the Vice President, Minister of Transport and Works, Minister of Finance Planning and Economic Development, the Attorney General and the Executive Director- KCCA.
This comes after Metu Zhongtong, which had committed to deliver 500 buses to Kampala between 2021 and 2022, failed.