The Ministry of Works and Transport has announced that it will be in charge of mandatory inspection of vehicles in the country which resumes early next year .
The mandate was initially given to Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS), a Swiss company that specialises in inspection, verification, testing and certification services.
Mr Karim Kibuuka, the acting vehicle inspector at the Ministry of Works and Transport, said the inspection kicked off on Monday with government vehicles until February, followed by commercial, goods and passenger service vehicles from March, and private vehicles will follow in that order.
Mr Kibuuka, who made the revelation in Kampala on Thursday at the launch of the road safety campaign under the theme, “Safe vehicles for a safer Uganda,” said members of the public who would wish to bring their vehicles earlier for inspection are free to do so.
He said the inspection is part of the country’s wider road safety strategy to reduce road accidents caused by mechanical failures and environment pollution from poorly maintained vehicles.
The mandatory inspection was initially planned for April, before it was moved to July and later postponed again over concerns of operational readiness, and ongoing stakeholder consultation.
Mr Kibuuka said the inspection would focus on external body, lights and visibility, internal security features, side-slip test, suspension test, brake test, emission testing, undercarriage inspection, and headlamp aim testing. Upon inspection, the ministry will issue a certificate of fitness that is required for every vehicle to operate on the country’s public roads.
“Uganda has witnessed increased motorisation over the years, but with it comes the challenge of unroadworthy vehicles operating on public roads. Many accidents, air pollution cases and traffic congestion incidents are linked to vehicles in poor mechanical condition,” Mr Kibuuka said.
Mr Kibuuka said the inspection comes at a cost, with motorcycles charged Shs5,500, saloon SUV vehicles Shs50,000, passenger service vehicles/taxis at Shs49,000 and heavy vehicles and buses at Shs60,000.
Mr Kibuuka said the government has taken over seven inspection facilities that were formerly run by SGS at Namave on Kampala- Jinja Road, Kawanda on Kampala- Bombo-Gulu Road, Nabbingo on Kampala-Masaka Road, Namulanda on Kampala- Entebbe Road, and upcountry stations in Mbale, Mbarara, and Gulu cities. He said the government would increase the vehicle inspection centres across the country.
Gen Katumba Wamala, the minister for Works and Transport, called for compliance, saying the exercise would help in reducing the high number of road crashes in the country.
“Let’s have our vehicles inspected to protect the lives of Ugandans on the roads. We have talked about this many times, and how it is unhealthy for us; every year to talk about the huge numbers in road accidents. We should find a way of reducing and reversing the trend,” he said.
Gen Katumba said the Electronic Penalty System (EPS) was suspended because it had flaws ,but would be reintroduced after being re-evaluated.
“We did realise that the EPS had some flaws, among which was that our speed limits on the roads are given by engineers, and not in consonance with the cameras. For example, you would find around Katabi [on Entebbe Road], there is a sign which shows 60km/ph speed limit. The camera was charging people at 45 kilometres, so there is a mismatch there,” Gen Katumba said.
“The EPS system will come back, we are refining the issue of speed on the road with speed on the camera. We are looking at the rates, and the charges – are they affordable – but also the payment system.”
Background
SGS commenced its services in November 2016 with seven inspection centres in Kampala, Gulu, Mbale and Mbarara.
In 2017, Parliament halted the mandatory vehicle inspection on grounds of high fees charged by SGS, arguing that the mandate should be left to the police. SGS was charging Shs54,752 for the inspection of motorcycles, Shs59,000 for buses, Shs100,000 for taxis and Shs147,500 for trucks.