Tourists Stranded, Buses Rescheduled, Banks Open Late on 1st Cleaning Day

Businesses in Kampala, other major cities and on highways were disrupted Saturday morning as the country launched the monthly National Cleaning Days. The day that was preceded by announcements by the Office of the Prime Minister, which were widely amplified by other agencies and the media, especially social media, still caught some off guard.

By 7.00 am highways suddenly became deserted as vehicles were being stopped at the first encounter with enforcement. Some travelers aboard buses received news while already along the way, that they could not continue with the journey until after at least three hours, leaving them disturbed at the reason that it is National Cleaning Day.

While others were aware of the new national event, many did not know how the implementation would be, or that it would involve blocking roads and shutting down the country.

One major transport company, Link Bus Services Ltd, which operates between Kampala and border areas in Western Uganda, informed its prospective customers that takeoff times would be between 4.00 am and 6.00 am, followed by a “sanitation pause” through to 10.00 am, when there would be no departures. Normal business would resume at 10.10. am.Unfortunately for the travelers, this announcement, first went out at 9.20 pm (at night) and many could not have seen it.

Other night travelers were just minutes to their destinations after moving overnight for as much as 500 kilometers, where they were told to stop until the exercise was completed at 10.00am. At Buloba traffic check where a bus going to Bundibugyo through Fort Portal had been stopped, passengers were in a heated argument with some saying the day was not communicated while others said they had seen the announcements in the media.

A similar argument was heard between a female shopkeeper who was forced to hurriedly close, and her neighbour, over the cleaning announcement. While both agreed that it was a welcome development, the woman said that it should have been publicised by Local Councils too. In many places shops remained closed as the cleaning exercise went on, though there were reports in some areas that business was as usual.

Commercial Banks, that usually open at 9.00 am on weekends, remained closed to business, issuing announcements that they would open at 12.00 pm and others 12.30 pm. Some said their branches would close at 1.00 pm, the usual weekend closure time, with others going on until 4.00 pm. The banks advised their clients to, in the meantime, utilise the electronic channels by ATMs and mobile banking platforms until the end of the national cleaning hours.

One other dent on the exercise is expected to be the effects on the travel and tourism sector, as tourists are likely to have their plans disrupted. This calls for clear guidelines on the day’s events to ensure some essential businesses remain unaffected.

There are already some reports that tourists from upcountry to Kampala and Entebbe could not travel at that time, leading to them rescheduling their flights.

A video appeared on social media showing at least five tourist vehicles stuck at a check point. One of the tour operators who said he had two clients in his car, says he was rushing them to Entebbe as they were headed back to their countries, unfortunately, they were running out of time.