Public service vehicles in Rwamagana seized over loan

At least 13 coaster buses belonging to a cooperative in Rwamagana District have been impounded over unpaid loan. Businesspersons operating under Ubumwe cooperative acquired the vehicles using a loan from Akagera Business Group through Unescom, two years ago. The vehicles have been parked for over two weeks now. Unescom, a taxi-moto union in the Eastern Province, negotiated the loan on behalf of the cooperative. Mansura Niyivuga, one of the affected businesses, blamed the situation on Unescom. He said they were remaining with one installment to complete the loan repayment. Niyivuga criticised the impounding of their buses, saying the contract terms indicated that the vehicles could only be impounded after two months of not paying. “The middleman (Unescom), our link to Akagera is the stumbling block. We sometimes pay money on their accounts but it doesn’t reach Akagera. We are also aware that Unescom has unpaid loans of Akagera amounting to over Rwf100 million,” he said. “Akagera may end up auctioning our vehicles, yet I had already paid over Rwf97 million for my three vehicles.” The buses were valued at Rwf 53 million each. The loan was supposed to be paid in two-and-a-half years and the owners had so far paid for two years, they say. When contacted, however, the chairman of Unescom, Dieu donne Nteziyaremye, said the businesses failed to honour the agreement. “Out of the 15 people that secured loans, only two have been paying consistently. We even have cases of those who sold off the vehicles they acquired on loan. This is totally unacceptable,” he said. “Some have declined to pay through our union opting instead to deal directly with Akagera. We were giving Akagera bouncing cheques until we discovered such dishonest actions. We are, however, involving third parties, including Private Sector Federation (PSF), to help resolve the impasse.” John Murengezi, an official of Akagera, said the matter was being handled in accordance with the law. “There was a breach of contract and they need to sort out themselves as soon as possible. They had defaulted on repayment for five to six months, and if nothing is done, we shall sell the vehicles,” he said. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Public service vehicles in Rwamagana seized over loan