Uganda’s manufacturers’ association has urged parliament to allow more local companies to produce vehicle number plates, saying delays under the country’s digital number plate system are disrupting businesses and reducing government revenue.
The Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA) made the proposal on Monday as parliament’s Physical Infrastructure Committee examined the implementation of the Intelligent Transport Monitoring System (ITMS), which includes the digital number plate programme.
UMA said allowing other Ugandan manufacturers to produce the physical plates would increase supply and reduce a growing backlog, while digital security features could continue to be incorporated into the system.
“Let these other companies which were producing number plates be allowed to produce. The digital parts can come in as and when needed,” Allan Ssenyondwa, UMA’s director of policy and research, told lawmakers.
Uganda signed a 10-year agreement in 2021 with Russia-based Joint Stock Company Global Security as the sole manufacturer of digital number plates under the ITMS.
But manufacturers, motorists and transport operators told lawmakers that shortages and delays were undermining the system.
“As of 1 June 2026, the daily output of number plates has dropped from 350 to under 100 sets on average,” committee chairman Mwine Mpaka said. Some upcountry centres had also stopped issuing plates because of shortages of installation kits, he said.
UMA Board Chairman Richard Mubiru said the system had yet to deliver the expected improvements.
“From where we sit at UMA, we have not seen a breakthrough in that regard,” he said.
The association said delays were tying up business assets and affecting vehicle clearance and sales.
Motorists also complained of lengthy waits. Hassan Ssentongo, a boda boda rider, told the committee he had paid for a digital plate in July 2025 but had yet to receive it.
The committee was also told that the delays could be costing the government about 4 billion Ugandan shillings ($1.1 million) a week in lost revenue.
Damir Makhmutov, the ITMS project manager at Global Security, acknowledged shortages and delays but said the company had sufficient technical capacity to increase installations.
“We have the technical capability. We have enough staff to perform 1,500 installations per day,” he said, adding that 1,307 installations had been carried out as of Sept. 23.
Makhmutov attributed some delays to disruptions affecting international consignments.
UMA said the government should establish clear deadlines for issuing plates and a mechanism for determining responsibility when those deadlines are missed.
The association said expanding local production would help protect manufacturing jobs while maintaining the security functions of the digital system.
