Uganda: Stampede as motorists pick driving licences

There was a stampede at Uganda Railway Corporation offices in Kampala yesterday as the government issued driving licences to clear a backlog left by Face Technology, a South African company.

The government last year took over the issuance and production of the licences under Uganda Security Printing Company (USPC).

The exercise, which started on Wednesday, saw hundreds of motorists throng the facility to pick the permits, which had taken almost five months.

Motorists accused the government of delaying issuing the licences.

“I applied for a licence in December last year but I just got it today [yesterday]. Besides, the process is tiresome compared to the previous system by Face Technology at Kyambogo,” Mr Samuel Ssegawa, a taxi driver, told Daily Monitor.

“This is unfair because you can’t hold our permits for this long and then keep us here yet we cleared on time,” Mr Baker Ssentongo, another motorist, said.

A long queue of motorists braved the scorching sun to pick up their licences while two police officers, who were manning the gate, were overwhelmed by the surging crowds.

Ms Catherine Nantume, the communications and customer care manager at the Uganda Driver Licensing System, attributed the overwhelming numbers to the backlog.

“The challenge is that people have been waiting for a very long time, and when they received messages asking them to pick up their permits, they came in large numbers,” she said.

Ms Nantume, however, added that after the backlog is handled, the exercise will take a few days because the system is fast.

“Under the new system, when you come to our offices, as long as you have the right documents and the customer care desk verifies their authenticity, you proceed to the enrolment centre where your personal data is captured. The data is transferred to the production department and the client is able to receive their license within 30 minutes,” she said.

For renewal of a licence, Ms Nantume said one needs to bring their old permit and pay renewal fees.

Requirements

However, those seeking to acquire a licence have to present a letter from their driving school, national identity card, a medical form, and a bank slip showing proof of payment of Shs60,000 for the application fees.

The applicants are then given a learners’ driving licence which they take to their instructor at the driving school and upon completion of the training, they go to the Inspector of Vehicles, who then sends a competence letter specifying the class to USPC for issuance of a driving licence.

Ms Agnes Kusasira, who was processing a learner’s driving license, said the system was seamless.

“It took me less than an hour to get the licence and I really like the customer care,” she said.

The Uganda Security Printing Company, which will work with Veridos, a German-based entity, prints all government security documents such as passports and national identity cards.