THE TRUTH! Whistleblower exposes extent of rot as Uganda Railways staff plot strike
Vandalized Railway
I inform Ugandan tax payers that there is a serious management crisis at Uganda Railways. The Management and Board are browsing the internet to find out what problems Railways the world over suffer from; copy and paste on their documents they present to the government to support their financial claims and imaginations.
Their literature is spotlessly clean and highly convincing. The Chief Executives nod in approval all through the reading time. What isn’t clean though is the Uganda Railways template they paste this browsed information on. This is majorly because the Uganda Railways differs from the other Railways in the region due to the following:-
(1) No major service to all locomotives and wagons fleet since 2018. For locomotives; the services start from a basic one called Daily Turn Round Service (DTRS). In this service, all oils and liquids are checked and topped up and other worn out parts like brake pads are replaced. The other services are A, B, C, D, E and F which depend on engine running kilometers and are mandatory and come with varying degrees of commitments.
Only DTRS and simple services A and B are being done religiously. The manufacturers in their wisdom specified what should be inspected and the ones like filters and oils to be replaced whether they still appear good during these major services. This level of ignorance can only be found with Uganda Railways in the region.
(2) 1998 class locomotives are new machines that the services and repairs team were supposed to be taken through by the manufacturers for a period of time. When Amin bought the 1973 class locomotives which totalled 33 in number, many Ugandans were trained in Germany on their handling for a long time. For the case of 1998 class locomotives, only a refrigeration Engineer called Kakooza with the Board members and Management frequented South Africa during its purchase. This is ignorance in the process of mutating to madness that you can only get in Uganda Railways.
Unfortunately the 1998 class locomotives have traction motors that aren’t in 1973 class locomotives that Ugandans are well versed with. Fellow Ugandans, you can only get what is proportional to your investment in the training of your technicians. Uganda Railways is investing in taking tourists to the Western world and expecting their technicians to be good!
Above all these; certain things surprise us and beg for answers.
(a) Why doesn’t the Ministry of Works ask Uganda Railways to give them a list of people properly trained on 1998 class locomotives?
(b) Why are the two available locomotives sometimes parked for a week due to no fuel?
(c) Can’t the Ministry of Works verify the concreteness of these computer generated growth prospects being fronted by the management and the Board?
(d) How does the Ministry of Works consider they could benefit from the former workers? Kenya did wonders around that area.
(e) Is there a desk in the Ministry of Works following up on how Railways uses assets like locomotives, wagons etc?
(f) Is a locomotive an immediate problem to Railways that you are sure of productivity when you avail one?
(g) How much money are these people making daily that they can pay USD 7500 daily for locomotives alone?
(h) Does the Ministry of Works consider some of us mad when we raise some of these pertinent issues having worked in Railways for quite long a time and having contact with all foot soldiers in Railways?
In conclusion, what is happening in Railways is an acute incompetence bordering on madness that can only be cured by a complete overhaul. Correcting this mess by replacing one man is only possible if the man you are recruiting is called Jesus Christ.
The writer is a staff member at Uganda Railways.
Sources are reporting a lot of unease in the Railways. Staff are likely to go on strike anytime from now—EDITOR.
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