Works and Transport Minister Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala has told Parliament that the Kyambogo facility operated by the contractor implementing Uganda’s Intelligent Transport Monitoring System (ITMS) project does not qualify as a manufacturing factory, raising questions about compliance with contractual obligations to establish local production of number plates.
Appearing before Parliament’s Committee on Physical Infrastructure, Katumba said the facility had some manufacturing equipment but did not meet the standards he would expect of a factory engaged in actual production.
“It's not a factory. There is manufacturing equipment there, but I would not call it a factory. So that answers your question directly, Honourable. Honourable Minister, I didn't see a factory which I would endorse as a factory doing the manufacturing,” Katumba told lawmakers.
The minister’s remarks followed a committee inspection of the facility, where lawmakers questioned whether Joint Stock Company (JSC), the contractor implementing the project, was manufacturing number plates locally as required under the agreement.
MP Emaju, who participated in the inspection, said the committee found that the facility receives plates that have already been manufactured and fitted with security features, before they undergo finishing processes in Uganda.
“Honourable Minister, when we visited we were able to confirm that actually there is no manufacturing taking place in Kyambogo as per the requirements of the contract. That is number one. Number two, we were also able to confirm that there is no raw material in any form that is being imported into this country," Emuju said.
"What is actually being imported is the plates themselves. They come when they already have the security features. What happens in Kyambogo is a printing machine that you and I can procure. And what JSC does is to emboss these plates and then call it manufacturing."
Katushabe Winston, a ministry official involved in the project, also described the Kyambogo facility as a warehouse rather than a production plant, explaining that it was established to address logistical challenges and prevent shortages of number plates and other project components.
“And the Kawempe area, in my view, I would call that a warehouse. It's a warehouse, and the warehouse shifted from Kawempe to Kyambogo. What was the purpose? This was put in place as a sunset measure to address the logistical gaps that we were facing... So Chair, that's how this matter came in, for GS to have a warehouse and make sure they have enough stocks of, one, aluminium plates, but also the other components,” Katushabe said.
The admissions have brought renewed scrutiny to the project's local manufacturing commitments, particularly the planned partnership between JSC and the National Enterprise Corporation (NEC), a government-owned entity expected to take over production of number plates.
Katumba said the original arrangement envisaged NEC eventually assuming responsibility for manufacturing the plates, reducing the government's dependence on a private contractor for their production.
“Even in this project, the original idea was that by the time Global Security hands over the project, one of the elements of government, and that was NEC, would be able to take over including the production of number plates, so that the production of number plates becomes a responsibility of government other than a private player... And I don't think that has yet been implemented, Global Security was supposed to establish a factory for making number plates in Uganda,” he said.
The committee's inquiry is examining the implementation of the ITMS project, including the contractor's obligations, the financial arrangements and the extent to which promised infrastructure has been established in Uganda.
The Kyambogo facility's status raises questions about whether the project's intended technology transfer and local production objectives have been achieved, as lawmakers seek clarification on the contractor's performance and the government's oversight of the agreement.