Dr Stephen Kasiima, Police Director in charge Traffic and road safety

The Parliamentary Physical Infrastructure Committee recently made a discovery that the traffic police refused to enforce inspection of vehicles under SGS Company which was awarded a contract to carry out inspection, verification, testing and certification.

The committee chaired the Woman MP for Luwero district, Lillian Nakate, while interfacing with the Police Director in charge Traffic and road safety, Dr Stephen Kasiima, in probing the illegalities surrounding the SGS contract for vehicle inspection noted that police had no date of the inspected vehicles to enforce the operation of removing vehicle in poor mechanical conditions from the road.

The Vehicle inspection was entirely under traffic police before the contract was given to SGS.

Kasiima told the committee that traffic police could not affect the operation against non-inspected vehicles because many had been not inspected due few existing inspection centers across the country. Adding that the available centers are around Kampala.

The commissioner of police in charge of vehicle inspection and drivers testing Eng.Franlin Kugonza said that giving SGS a contract for inspection of vehicles rendered some of the traffic officers for vehicle inspection redundant.

He pointed out that the difference between vehicles inspected by traffic police and SGS or other companies is that traffic police inspection report can be used in courts of law to pin the offender.

He said that it was wrong to place vehicle inspection under SGS from police because there people who borrow tires and go for inspection of the vehicles  to centers which they know are not under police inspection and after the process they take back the borrowed tires and fix again the worn out.

The post MPs querry Traffic police refusal to enforce vehicle inspection by SGS Company first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Gordon Wavamuno the Chairman of UMSA

Members of the Uganda Motor Industry Association (UMIA) have appealed to the Parliamentary Physical Infrastructure Committee investigating how SGS company was awarded a 5 contract for vehicle inspection in Uganda saying government should cancel their contract if found to have breached  the Public Procurement Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDAA).

UMIA who met recently including Spear Motors Proprietor, Gordon Wavamuno, Victoria motors director, Sam Kibuka together with the Association Lawyer,  Chris Bwanika, told the   committee  chaired by Luwero district MP, Lillian Nakate, that SGS was given the contract of vehicle inspection in absence of fair competition which sidelined other service providers.

The group said that giving the vehicle inspection contract to SGS without subjecting it to competition was undermining the government project of Buy Uganda, Build Uganda, adding that this dictates affirmative action in government procurements which favour entities on the ground to foster private sector growth.

UMIA members said that their respective companies had the capacity to create vehicle inspection service stations since they have more vehicle inspection stations than SGS in the whole country to reach out to the general public without subjecting Ugandans to inconveniences they are suffering in the hands of SGS.

They told the committee that SGS has established a few vehicle inspection service stations in Kawanada and Nabbingo and is intending to construct another seven (7) stations which they say cannot cover the entire country and that the few are also only centered around Kampala. This they say has subjected the people from upcountry to travel long distances for inspections in Kampala.

They say they as UMIA have established members who are ready to extend the service to the people wherever they are.

They also challenged the way the process is being managed where by every vehicle which is more than one year old has to be subjected to inspection without regard to the manufacturer’s warranties which raise contractual issues when the SGS interferes with such vehicles.

Lawyer Bwanika, said that if the SG contract found of being awarded illegally should be terminated and fresh bidding in invited.

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