Uganda’s Digital Plates Pass Tracking Test as MPs Scrutinise Costs and Capacity

Ugandan lawmakers brought four parliamentary vehicles to a police command centre with a practical challenge: find them. Police operators supplied their live locations and coordinates through the digital number plate system, according to Nile Post Uganda (direct). The demonstration established that the tracking function works, while leaving a harder operational question: how quickly can police act when the system signals trouble?

The Committee on Physical Infrastructure, led by chairperson Mwine Mpaka, visited the Naguru facility as part of its examination of the Digital Number Plate Project. Its inquiry extends beyond security technology to the cost of plates, the contractor’s capacity, delays in issuing them and communication with motorists. The visit gave MPs a direct look at one part of a project whose production and service delivery are also being assessed.

Finding a vehicle is only the first step

Inspector General of Police Abasi Byakagaba told the committee that the system was already helping investigations and police operations. Earlier evidence from Police Director of ICT, AIGP Felix Baryamwisaki, put recoveries at 337 out of 375 stolen motor vehicles tracked by police—a reported recovery rate of 90%. Those figures were presented to the committee; the Naguru demonstration separately showed that officers could locate the vehicles lawmakers had brought.

The MPs identified the handling of automatic alerts as an area needing more work. Interference with a digital plate triggers a notification at the command centre, carrying the vehicle’s location, coordinates and the time of the incident. Committee members called for alerts to be ranked by urgency, so suspected theft or tampering can be distinguished from less critical notifications and prompt a rapid police response.

Officials said work to strengthen that response chain was under way. The Ministry of Works and Transport is developing an integrated system to connect vehicle registration records with owners’ telephone numbers, email addresses and other contact details. That would allow command-centre staff to ask owners whether interference with a plate was authorised or might indicate theft or vandalism. The proposed link is intended to make verification and response faster.

Production, prices and data remain in focus

Before visiting Naguru, MPs inspected the plate production facility, examining manufacturing, stocks and installation operations. Information presented during that inspection put capacity at 2,500 plate kits a day, or about 50,000 a month. The facility reportedly employs more than 300 Ugandans directly, with the project supporting over 900 further jobs in related industries. Its reported localisation level—the share described as local—stands at 80%.

Lawmakers also asked how information generated by the tracking system is managed and stored. Samuel Okiding, Deputy Chief of Defence Forces and the military’s representative in Parliament, said he was satisfied that the data was kept in Uganda. That issue sits alongside the committee’s broader examination of what the project costs and whether its contractor can deliver.

Committee chairperson Mwine Mpaka said MPs had established that cars and motorcycles could be tracked; their task was to examine improvements, costs and the contractor’s capacity.

The demonstration gives the committee practical evidence of vehicle tracking, not an answer to every concern surrounding the rollout. The next areas to watch are the planned connection to owners’ contact details, the procedures for prioritising alerts and the police response that follows. Alongside those operational changes, plate costs, issuance delays and delivery capacity remain part of parliamentary scrutiny.