Mega Fm & Agency
Security authorities in Northern Uganda have warned that trucks repeatedly used to transport charcoal in violation of President Yoweri Museveni’s ban risk being auctioned as the government intensifies a crackdown on the illicit trade.
The warning was issued on Monday at Lira Military Barracks in Lira City, where the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Fifth Infantry Division handed back 16 trucks impounded for transporting forest products in the Acholi and Lango sub-regions.
Five of the trucks had been intercepted loaded with firewood, while 11 were loaded with about 900 bags of charcoal destined for markets in Central Uganda.
The owners were released after authorities determined that they were first-time offenders.
But the Lira Resident City Commissioner, Lawrence Egole, warned that repeat offenders would not receive the same leniency.
Egole said Executive Order No. 3 provides for the auctioning of vehicles repeatedly used to transport charcoal in violation of the ban.
The warning comes amid a renewed security crackdown on a charcoal trade that has persisted 3years after President Museveni issued Executive Order No. 3 banning commercial charcoal production, trade and transportation in Northern Uganda.
Authorities in Nwoya District recently impounded more than 2,000 bags of charcoal at checkpoints in Purongo Sub-county and Anaka Town Council. More than 800 of the bags were subsequently distributed to residents.
