Government urged to scale up electric transport to help combat pollution

Government asked to scale up use of electric enabled transport systems as a strategy to combat air pollution in Uganda, whose level, according to researches has surpassed the acceptable standards set by the World Health Organization.

According to the research conducted by the Makerere University Lung Institute poor air quality is largely caused by vehicle and industry emissions

“When I was in china I witnessed that there is no Bodaboda (mortal cycle) that uses fuel, all of the them are using electricity, we are proud of having so many power station and you only need to tap on the electricity that we have, that is solar and hydro, I saw our Kiira buses on road and I was happy, they are not using any fuel they are using electricity,” said Muteekanga.

A study conducted by Makerere University Lung Institute together with other partners indicated that the Air quality in Kampala and Jinja had been found to be of poor which means that the population is breathing dirty air.

According to Gabriel Okello, the principal investigator, sources of pollution varied between Kampala and Jinja cities.

“in some parts of Kampala, motorized transportation played a significant role in creating pollution, while in Jinja, industrial emissions are to blame”, he told NTV in an earlier interview.

 

 

Written by Barbra Anyait