Importers blame PVoC contracts for shoddy work

Car importers and clearing agents have asked government to do cost a benefit analysis before renewing the contracts of Pre-import Verification of Conformity (PVoC) programme contactors.
The importers say Ugandans are getting a raw deal since second-hand vehicles that come into the country do not meet road worthiness yet traders pay a lot of money for inspection for conformity before they are imported into the country.
Uganda awarded verification to conformity contracts to East Africa Automobiles Company, TÜV Rheinland and Jabal Kilimanjaro.
Others include Société Générale de Surveillance, Intertek International and Bureau Veritas.
“We have seen many vehicles being imported and they are in very poor state and here we are told they are being inspected, how come we have many problems with car engines,” said Ms Jaffer Abdallah, the chairperson at Uganda Clearing Industry and Forwarding Association.
This was at a meeting where officials from Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) were meeting importers and clearing agents for the second time in a month.
“To us it’s very clear, the service providers are just picking money for inspection, UNBS needs to wake up and try to check out the services offered to Ugandans,” Mr Abdallah said, explaining that UNBS has for instance, on several occasions questioned Certificate of Road Worthiness for motor vehicles issued by the PVoC inspectors.
Earlier, one of the PVoC service providers had blamed the mess of traders who ‘hire’ spare parts and after getting the Certificate of Road Worthiness they return the parts to the owners.
“We do our job but traders hire spare parts from garages and when they pass the tests, they pluck them and return to their owners hence when they reach here, they are found to be faulty,” said Mr Khalid Salum Karwani from Jabali Kilimanjaro.