Uganda’s Attorney General Sam Mayanja has told Parliament that the contract for the country’s digital number plates is null and void, citing violations of Ugandan law.
Mayanja made the statement on October 6 while appearing before Parliament to respond to questions surrounding the 2021 agreement between the Ugandan government and Russian company JSCGS for the supply and management of digital number plates.
According to Mayanja, the agreement allows a private company to collect government fines, a function he said is not legally permissible. He also said the contract did not comply with statutory requirements.
“The contract is null and void,” Mayanja told lawmakers, according to the proceedings.
The Attorney General’s position has intensified parliamentary scrutiny of the digital number plate project, which has faced questions over its cost, implementation and legal framework.
Each digital number plate costs Shs714,300, a figure that has drawn concern from lawmakers and motorists.
Security Minister Jim Muhwezi, however, defended the project, saying the digital number plates form part of the Intelligent Transport Monitoring System introduced for national security purposes.
Muhwezi said the system was initiated in 2019 under the guidance of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and is intended to strengthen the monitoring of vehicles in Uganda.
He cited cases in which the system has assisted security agencies in recovering stolen vehicles as evidence of its usefulness.
The minister’s defence comes amid questions over whether the technology can deliver all the tracking capabilities that have been associated with the project.
Lawmakers have also questioned why Ugandan companies were excluded from participating in the project and raised concerns about delays in its implementation.
The disagreement has exposed a wider question over how security-related projects can be implemented while complying with procurement, financial and other statutory requirements.
While Muhwezi maintained that the digital number plates serve a national security purpose, Mayanja’s assessment places the legal validity of the underlying contract at the centre of the parliamentary inquiry.
The project has attracted growing public criticism over the cost of the plates, the technology’s capabilities and problems encountered during implementation.
Parliament is expected to continue examining the contract and the wider Intelligent Transport Monitoring System, including how the government can address the legal concerns while retaining any security functions considered necessary.
The hearings could determine whether the existing contractual arrangements can be regularised, replaced or otherwise restructured to comply with Ugandan law.
