President Yoweri Museveni Thursday met a delegation of United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based One Mobility Group at State House Entebbe.
One Mobility Group is a multi- national company that owns and operates companies that deal with all means of private and public transport along with the ancillary services.
During the meeting, the Group expressed interest to extend their services to Uganda by improving Kampala’s mass public transport system.
President Museveni gave them a go ahead but on condition that they must use buses made or assembled from Uganda.
“I’m very glad to hear that idea. The only point I would have added, you seem to have already worked on it because those buses I want them to be made here. You should use buses either made or assembled here because that is what we are planning. We are planning to make the buses using those people of Metu and Kiira Motors,” Mr. Museveni said.
“If you can come in and work with them to operate, that will be very good. You must work with them. We don’t want to use imported buses, we want to use our own buses here,” he further told the visiting delegation.
The President also suggested that the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja calls for a meeting between, One Mobility Group, Kiira Motors and Metu to see how they can move forward together.
“The benefits of this initiative are very clear; less traffic jam , less fuel and time saving,” he added.
The Vice Chairman of One Mobility Group, Mr. Omeir Mohamed Omeir Yousef AlMheiri assured Gen. Museveni that they are very much ready to work with the two local bus manufacturing companies in order to achieve a common goal of putting an end to the traffic congestion in Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area.
“We have got broad interests in Uganda and we are here particularly today regarding the Bus Rapid Transport System. We are very keen to be part of the public transport system and we are looking forward to that with the help of our government and the support of the Ugandan government as well,” Mr. Mohamed stated.
“We are very much open to work with everyone here as long as it fits the international standards and in terms of supply if they can meet the required timeframe, we shall be more than happy to work with anyone. At the end of the day, our aim is to provide a more affordable solution to the people of Uganda to move around in a more effective manner.”
The group which so far manages and we operates public transport in Abu Dhabi, other Arab Countries, North Africa, Tanzania and Kenya also plans to integrate the minibuses and boda bodas into this system.
“Your Excellency, there millions of Ugandans travelling from sub urban areas to the city on a daily basis and that means that there’s so much time wasted in traffic and that translates to costs and expenses to the government. So with this system, we are looking to find an effective and a more lively solution to Ugandans to be able to travel efficiently,” Mr. Mohamed noted.
From managing the tremendously successful Fast Rent a Car, One Mobility Group has evolved to preside over a plethora of companies ranging from car hire, limo, taxi services and public transport services and maintenance facilities, excelling in each of these fields.
The company has grown from strength to strength, adopting a highly ambitious, quality-driven, goal-orientated business methodology that evolves with the market needs and requirements.
The meeting was also attended by Uganda’s Ambassador to UAE, Mr. Zaake Kibedi who led the One Mobility Group delegation, Mr. Ahmed Abood Saleh Al Boasy Al Yafei – the Group Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Istvan Csuzi – the Group General Manager.