Parliament’s committee on Physical Infrastructure says it has established that the digital number plate system can effectively track vehicles.
Led by committee chairperson Mwine Mpaka, the legislators visited the Police Command Centre in Naguru to see first-hand how the tracking system operates, days after concerns were raised by different stakeholders about its security, vehicle-tracking functionality and capabilities.
The visit marked the latest stage in the committee’s scrutiny of the Digital Number Plate Project. On September 28, Mpaka said parliament needed to establish whether the security component of the system was working, following concerns raised by stakeholders appearing before the committee.
While interfacing with the MPs in parliament, police director of ICT, AIGP Felix Baryamwisaki, reported that 337 out of 375 stolen motor vehicles had been successfully tracked and recovered, representing a 90 per cent recovery rate.
However, Mpaka and the committee wanted to go beyond the figures presented during the hearings. The committee subsequently resolved to visit the monitoring centre for a practical demonstration of how vehicles are identified, how information is processed and how the technology supports police operations.
Mpaka said MPs wanted to test the system using their own number plates rather than relying solely on a prepared demonstration.
“Yes, indeed, we have established that cars and motorbikes can be tracked. The issue of digital number plates is clearly important. We just need to see how we can improve the system,” Mpaka said.
At Naguru, MPs were taken through the system in its operational environment and shown how digital registration plates can support police in identifying, tracking and recovering vehicles.
The committee was also presented with documented security results demonstrating the role of the digital number plate system beyond vehicle registration and plate issuance.
The demonstration came against the background of concerns raised during the September 28 hearings over delays in the issuance of number plates, production capacity, costs and communication with motorists. The committee has been examining these issues alongside the security capabilities of the system.
Committee members also sought clarification on how information generated by the system is managed and stored.
Sam Okiding, deputy Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and the representative of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) in parliament, said he was convinced that the data is stored in Uganda.
“One thing for sure is, the whole country needs the digital number plate system. As a committee, we are looking at the cost and the capacity of the contractor. Other than that, no one is against the project,” Mpaka said.
During the production inspection, MPs were shown the full number plate manufacturing process, existing stocks of production materials and ongoing plate production and installation operations.
The facility is currently operating at a production capacity of 2,500 number plate kits per day, or 50,000 per month, providing capacity to support current registration and fitment requirements.
Number plate production is carried out by a workforce of more than 300 Ugandan employees, while the project supports more than 900 additional jobs in related industries.
The level of localisation has reached 80 per cent, making the facility the first full-cycle number plate production facility in East Africa, according to project officials.
MPs observed the production lines, available stocks and ongoing operations. The committee said it had established that the plate backlog had been cleared, registration and fitment times had fallen sharply, and police were using digital number plate technology to trace and recover stolen vehicles.