Government terminates car inspection deal

A ministry of Works official inspects a vehicle at Kawanda motor vehicle inspection site. The Cabinet has decided to terminate the motor vehicle inspection deal between the government and a private company, SGS. PHOTO | STEPHEN OTAGE

What you need to know:

  • Members of Parliament and vehicle operators protested the fees saying they were unfair and inequitable. Taxi operators wondered why they were paying Shs100,000 for inspection every six months when buses were subjected to annual test at Shs59,000. 

The Cabinet has decided to terminate the motor vehicle inspection deal between the government and a private company, Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS).

Dr Chris Baryomunsi, the minister of Information, Communication Technology and National Guidance, said the Cabinet decided that the vehicle inspection should be done by either the police or the Ministry of Works and Transport. 

“One of the cardinal decisions that have been taken by the Cabinet is that we are terminating all those arrangements [with] SGS to carry out vehicle inspection. [Vehicle Inspection] will be carried out by our own system. That is to say the police and the Ministry of Works and Transport,” Dr Baryomunsi said during a press conference at the Uganda Media Centre yesterday. 

In July 2016, the government made the inspection of motor vehicles compulsory at least once a year. Government contracted a Swiss company SGS to carry out the inspection.  SGS established several centres across the country to inspect motor vehicles. 

Each centre has the capacity to inspect more than 200 motor vehicles a day.  

The motorists, especially those who were in public transport service, protested the inspection and the fees associated with it. 

In 2017, Parliament halted the project and demanded that the work should be done by a government agency.

Before the halting of the project, SGS was charging Shs54,752 for the inspection of a motorcycle, Shs59,000 for buses, Shs100,000 for a taxi and Shs147,500 for a truck. 

Motorists whose vehicles failed the test were required to pay half the first fee for another inspection. 

Members of Parliament and vehicle operators protested the fees saying they were unfair and inequitable. Taxi operators wondered why they were paying Shs100,000 for inspection every six months when buses were subjected to annual test at Shs59,000. 

The Parliamentary Committee on Infrastructure recommended a revision of the fees.

President Museveni later said the inspection of public service vans should be done for free.

In 2020, the Cabinet approved the controversial mandatory and periodic motor vehicle inspection service, citing job creation and enhancement of revenues. 

In the regulations of vehicle inspection, a vehicle whose engine number doesn’t correspond with one in the logbook will not be inspected but a correction will be made if the motorist provides proof that he or she bought the engine.