Fred Byamukama, the newly-appointed minister of State for Transport, has said that stringent action shall be taken against police officers who fail to supervise driving tests, before allowing learners to get driving licenses.
He made the remarks while inspecting Uganda Driving Licensing System(UDLS) last week in Kampala, where he said he was happy that the process of obtaining a driving license had been streamlined.
“People don’t have licenses, others have them but they acquired them through the wrong ways. We still have a challenge but now they are telling me that you are planning to have everything go digital including testing to prove one’s competence,” he said.
He noted that going digital in obtaining a driving license will help to fight corruption in the process of obtaining permits.
“There is that place in Naguru which I think is the most corrupt place in this country where they issue the certificate of competence. In that place, I don’t think that people are tested. It’s on rare occasions that you go and they test you. Once you have your Shs 30,000 or Shs 40,000, they will clear you,” he said.
On planned activities at the driver licensing facility, Eng. Andrew Kagoda, Project Coordinator, UDLS said mobile teams programs are going to commence alongside the extension of services to an additional five regions across the country.
According to Kagoda, Covid-19 pandemic has affected service delivery at the unit delaying pre-shipment inspections and tests, and implementation of planned activities.
He revealed that they have rising cases of middlemen attempting to infiltrate the system.
