Ramson

Parliament has adopted reports by the Committee of Physical Infrastructure and the Committee of Defence and Internal Affairs on the installation of monitoring software in all vehicles and motorcycles.

The deal that was handed over to a Russian company, Joint Stock Company Global Security was initially queried by opposition legislators on grounds that the company had been declared bankrupt.

The MPs also raised concerns that such a system would compromise the privacy of motorists whose vehicles will be tracked.
At the height of the killing of some prominent people, including Arua Municipality MP Ibrahim Abiriga and police officer Muhammad Kirumnira in 2018, President Yoweri Museveni announced that the government would have all vehicles and motorcycles tracked, for security reasons.

Later, Parliament took up the matter and the committees of Physical Infrastructure and Defence and Internal Affairs were tasked with reviewing the proposal.

The report of the Committee on Physical Infrastructure was presented to Parliament by the Deputy Chairperson, Robert Kasolo while that of the Committee of Defence and Internal Affairs was presented by the Chairperson, Rosemary Nyakikongoro.

Both committees unanimously agreed that the Russian company, Joint Stock Company Global Security is allowed to install tracking devices in all motor vehicles and motorcycles, citing security reasons
According to the report of the committee on physical infrastructure, the Russian Company has never been declared bankrupt and can, therefore, sign a contract with the government.

The company is expected to execute the contract for ten years. Under the arrangement, the owners of already registered vehicles will have to pay for the new registration plates which contain a chip for tracking the vehicle.

There are proposed new road fines for motorists who will be found guilty of violating the traffic guideline of driving vehicles without trackers.

Even after their report had been presented on the floor of Parliament, some members of the physical infrastructure committee said they still needed to take a benchmarking trip abroad, to assess the same project. This left some MPs in shock.

In July 2022, the government signed a 10-year contract with a Russian firm to provide digital vehicle trackers for motor vehicles and motorcycles, in a bid to curb insecurity.

The proposal was introduced by President Museveni in his 10-point security measure in the wake of gun violence in the country that saw several Ugandans killed, especially in Greater Masaka.

Ramson