NEW ARUA TAXI PARK TENANTS DECRY EXORBITANT RENT AND POOR SERVICE DELIVERY FROM LANDLORDS
The tenants further say that the facility is in darkness since the power was sub contracted to someone and provision is not adequate.
By Moses Alinda
ARUA: Tenants operating in Arua new taxi park under their umbrella Arua new tax park union have decried the exorbitant rent that has been levied on them by the landlords in the taxi park.
Through their chairperson Idi Yasin the tenants say the rent is a burden to them since they also have other responsibilities such as paying school fees, trading license among others.
Yasin says according to government rate the ground floor rooms are at 300,000 while on the 1st floor they are at 150,000.
But the landlords charge them between 500,000 to 800,000 depending on who is your landlord.
Addressing the media at Arua new taxi park the tenants have called upon the government to intervene and rescue them from the exorbitant amounts the land lords are charging them.
The tenants further say that the facility is in darkness since the power was sub contracted to someone and provision is not adequate.
The generator rooms have become stores instead of accommodating the generators.
Momma Norbert the vice chairperson of the union and a business man dealing in phone accessories says after instructions from the mayor to pay electronically, he found the month he had already paid for three month at the rate of 600,000 per month was not remitted.
In an interaction with Oshino Rashid Ejoyi the councilor representing bazaar ward to Arua central division, the landlords contracts ended in June and now the facility is under the custodian of Arua central division.
He says the division will be able to correct the mess the tenants have been facing.
Drakuma Malik the central division town clerk says the facility is currently in the hands of the central division and the tenants will be able to pay using integrated revenue administration system (IRAS) which has been developed to collect government funds.
He says this will solve the issues of landlords who are taking over government properties as their own.
The city town clerk Paul Batanda has acknowledged the challenges the taxi park is facing.
Paul says the tenants are not supposed to sub rent when the official land lord is not aware and it has to be done according to the law.
He says they are coming up with bid document for the service providers in the taxi park since the current service provider was not tendered by Arua city council.
He further says they have scheduled a meeting with the city leaders and vendors which will solve the other challenges in the new tax park.
Godimax was contracted by the contractor to provide power in the new taxi park but according to the vendors he has not performed his duties to expectation.
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