KAMPALA.
The government has succumbed to public criticism and suspended the controversial automated Express Penalty Scheme (Auto EPS) for one month .
The move, according to Gen Edward Katumba Wamala, the Works and Transport minister is to engage all concerned groups and resolve the bottlenecks in its implementation.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Gen Katumba, said they would use the window to address the concerns raised by thousands of motorists who have suffered unfair penalties in traffic offences .
“In this time, the government will verify any concerns regarding fines that were issued on the system, review the regulation and sensitise the public on the regulations and the Auto EPS. The Ministry will also continue to engage stakeholders to address their concerns with the system,” Gen Katumba said.
The implementation of the Auto EPS that commenced a couple of weeks ago saw several motorists given fines as high as 20 per cent of the value of their vehicles due to speeding.
Transporters complained they would run out of business if the law continued to be enforced the way it is currently . They also threatened to strike, prompting Gen Katumba to suspend the implementation.
But the motorists have since suspended their strike which was slated for next week after government suspended the enforcement. The associations that unite taxi operators, car dealerships and truckers had planned the strikes starting on June 16 Monday, protesting what they described as exorbitant traffic fines.
Mr Rashid Ssekindi, the chairperson of the taxi operators, said their interest in a strike was for the government to halt the fines until they had agreed on closing the gaps in the law.
“We wrote to the Ministry of Works and Transport to halt the implementation of the fines, or we would go on strike. The government has done what we wanted, and we are now asking them to involve us in improving the law,” he said on Thursday
Car dealers who sell vehicles on hire purchase were victimised by the law after the police sent fines to them since they were registered owners of vehicles found speeding.
Most of the vehicles sold on hire purchase are kept in the names of car dealers until the clients make full payments.
The car dealers said they would join the strike following the Uganda Revenue Authority freezing their accounts until the traffic fines are paid. Some of the car dealers told this newspaper yesterday that they would halt the strike, but would first meet to confirm the suspension.
Mr William Busuulwa, a leader of the truck operators, said his members agreed to call off the strike and engage the government in the best way to enforce discipline on the roads.
“Truckers from the region, who transport cargo to and through Uganda, had resolved to park their vehicles in protest against the speed limits and traffic fines. They have agreed to suspend the strike and are waiting to be invited by the Ugandan government for an engagement,” Mr Busuulwa said.
During the National Budget reading on Thursday at Kololo Independence Grounds President Museveni made a surprise swipe at government officials in Ministry of Works and Transport and Police saying the digital number plates were not introduced to siphon money from motorists in form of traffic fines ,but to check crime .
“Finally, I saw some issues about the digital number plates, and fines. That people are being fined. But the issue about the number plates is not about fines, it is anti-crime. I cannot accept our Ugandans dying because of incomplete infrastructure.
The cameras have helped us handle a number of things. These digitised number plates have a central command force, you touch it and an alarm goes off, that’s their work, not collecting fines and so on,” he said