ATRACO members call for local representative to step down

KARONGI – Members of the Association of Commuter Taxi Drivers (ATRACO) want their representative in Karongi District, to step down because of alleged corruption, embezzlement and under-performance. The members have accused their local leader of failure to undertake his duties. They also accuse him of soliciting for bribes in his capacity as officer in charge of registering drivers and private vehicles into the association. “Just to have your vehicle registered one has to pay our chairman Rwf30,000 for the purposes of getting an operation route and in case one wishes to change the route Rwf20,000 is the minimum price payable,” the drivers wrote in the letter, asking Muhayimana, to step down. The drivers also accuse Muhayimana of swindling money meant for drivers’ health insurance scheme. He is alleged to have withdrawn a sum of Rwf409,000 from ATRACO account without the consent of other members of the association. In an interview however, Muhayimana denied the allegations. He said that having being at the helm of the ATRACO leadership for long has earned him enemies. “I think they just got tired of me because I have been here for over three years yet all my predecessors served for less than a year on average,” he said. The national president of ATRACO, Col. Dodo Twahirwa, acknowledged that he has received the complaints of the drivers. He promised to take a quick resolution to resolve the matter. “I have heard of those complaints recently and on Sunday (tomorrow) I intend to visit Kibuye to solve the problem,” he said yesterday by telephone. Ends