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Government slams brakes on digital number plates project again
Mechanics fix new number plates on one of the government vehicles after their launch at the Ministry of Works and Transport headquarters in Kampala on November 1, 2023. PHOTO/STEPHEN OTAGE
What you need to know:
- Once the mass enrollment exercise commences, new vehicle and motorcycle owners will pay Shs714,000 while exchanging existing plates will cost Shs150,000 for motor vehicles and Shs 50,000 for motorcycles.
The government has for the second time pushed the mass installation exercise of digital numbers on private vehicles to an unknown date.
The exercise was expected to start on February 1, following a directive made by the government during the plates' official launch in Kampala last November 1. However, the exercise was pushed to July 1 for several reasons, including allowing the government to address concerns surrounding the exercise and to do enough sensitisation among the masses.
Speaking to Daily Monitor on September 2, the Ministry of Works and Transport spokesperson, Ms Su-san Kataike, said the [second] announcement on the mass installation exercise on privately owned vehicles would be made later.
we shall come out and make a communication at a later date [on when the exercise will start],” Ms Kataike said without mentioning the date.
The government is currently installing digital plates on government vehicles, an exercise Ms Kataike confirms to have been ongoing for the last six months, and is aimed at winning the trust of members of the public.
“Ugandans took the Ministry to the public court and the government heeded to what people were saying that there was a need to do more sensitisation and that also, we start with [installing] government vehicles and that is what technically what we are doing,” she said, adding: “...and the system is being improved with people being given more time to prepare such that by the time we are fully rolling out, it means that we are 100 percent sure that there is not going to be a break-down.”
Once the mass enrollment exercise commences, new vehicle and motorcycle owners will pay Shs714,000 while exchanging existing plates will cost Shs150,000 for motor vehicles and Shs 50,000 for motorcycles.
Ms Kataike said after the phase of the government vehicles, the government will then move to-wards installing digital number plates on new motorcycles.
“Their roll-out [on new motorcycles] is November 1. But the way motorcycles currently come into the country is interesting. They come into the country as spare parts before they are assembled for sale. So, these are some of the challenges that the project keeps Shs714,000.
Payment
New vehicle and motorcycle owners will pay Shs714,000 while exchanging existing plates will cost
Shs150,000.
On finding, "therefore, we are trying to work out a mechanism to work with big importers so that we iron out some of these things,” Ms Kataike said. The government and Russian company, Joint Stock Company Global Security signed a contract in 2021 to provide the country with digital number plates.
The project intends to track criminals who use vehicles and motorcycles, President Museveni said during the 2021 State-of-the-Nation address.
How the system works
The verification process starts with confirming particulars in the car owner’s log book before a number plate is allocated and fitted into the vehicle.
Upon installation of the digital number plates, a technical team from police headquarters can get a live feed of the vehicle's movement, considering its mandate to oversee security in the country. Other motor vehicle registration key players including the Ministry of Works and Transport and Security Ministry are also able to access the information depending on what professional use it is needed for including addressing the safety concerns of a country.
Police can keep track of the vehicles because of the Intelligent Transport Management System (ITMS), a software technology incorporated inside onboard tracking devices and two number plates equipped with transmitters. The installation process, overall, takes between 30 minutes to one hour.
