Taxi drivers and owners, yesterday, dissolved their association, Association of Transport Companies (Atraco), to form the Rwanda Federation of Transport Cooperatives (RFTC). The decision followed a series of consultative meetings aimed at making the group profit-oriented and more accountable.
Taxi drivers and owners, yesterday, dissolved their association, Association of Transport Companies (Atraco), to form the Rwanda Federation of Transport Cooperatives (RFTC).
The decision followed a series of consultative meetings aimed at making the group profit-oriented and more accountable.
Atraco was a non-profit-oriented entity.
At the event to inaugurate the new body, the recently elected president of the RFTC, Col (rtd) Dodo Twahirwa, said the formation of the federation is mainly aimed at boosting the financial ability of the taxi drivers’ fraternity.
"Time has come for us to re-organize ourselves and mature into a profit-oriented federation. We have to operate a business that is beneficial to all,” said Twahirwa.
Prior to the dissolution of Atraco, a high-level committee that was set up to help address longstanding wrangling that had marred Atraco, and headed by the Minister of Local Government, James Musoni, made a proposal to restructure the association and create a body whose members would automatically be shareholders.
The restructuring saw the association turn into several autonomous cooperatives around the country – twelve in all. The cooperatives were later grouped into four unions, which have now merged to form the RFTC.
The vice president of the federation, Francois Nsegiyumva, announced that the newly created body effectively inherits Atraco’s property, finances and liabilities.
In an interview with The New Times, Leo Kamanzi, a commuter taxi driver plying downtown Kigali-Kimironko route, said that the federation will assist them access bank loans and help promote their rights.