Change of driving permits leaves applicants perplexed
Mar 29, 2010
The mandatory acquisition, renewal and conversion of driving permits under the Traffic and Road Safety Act of 1998 is leaving many applicants frustrated due to lack of clear steps to follow. In 2008, the Government contracted Face Technologies to print and issue computerised driving permits, while t
By Vision Reporter
The mandatory acquisition, renewal and conversion of driving permits under the Traffic and Road Safety Act of 1998 is leaving many applicants frustrated due to lack of clear steps to follow. In 2008, the Government contracted Face Technologies to print and issue computerised driving permits, while those that had been issued in 2005 were to be renewd for three years.
Since then, applicants for both new computerised permits and those seeking to convert the old ones are still ignorant on what is required of them.
Applicants have fallen prey to fraudsters by paying for the renewal of paper driving permits with Uganda Revenue Authority only to find that they are either expired or forged.
According to the Act, driving permits which are not renewed for five years from the date of issue or renewal, elapse and owners must process new ones. Permits for learners are issued first and later tested by the Inspector of Motor Vehicles (IOV). When they pass the test, they are given the “Class B†that authorises one to drive dual purpose vehicles.
This means towards the end of this year, all paper driving permits will no longer be converted. Only those that were issued or renewed in 2005 and those worked on earlier will be processed.
Nathan Tumushabe, an inspector of vehicles with the works and transport ministry and the coordinator of the Face Technologies project, says applicants are ignorant about the act.
“The Act is very clear and we cannot operate out of it to please applicants. Any paper driving permit owner who did not renew is just process a fresh one and forfeit the classes and driving experience in the first permit,†he says.
There are classes that were endorsed on paper permits that are not needed when conversion is effected. During the 1990s, the Class E and CM were used for beginners. However, Class B is now in use for beginners.
The mandatory acquisition, renewal and conversion of driving permits under the Traffic and Road Safety Act of 1998 is leaving many applicants frustrated due to lack of clear steps to follow. In 2008, the Government contracted Face Technologies to print and issue computerised driving permits, while those that had been issued in 2005 were to be renewd for three years.
Since then, applicants for both new computerised permits and those seeking to convert the old ones are still ignorant on what is required of them.
Applicants have fallen prey to fraudsters by paying for the renewal of paper driving permits with Uganda Revenue Authority only to find that they are either expired or forged.
According to the Act, driving permits which are not renewed for five years from the date of issue or renewal, elapse and owners must process new ones. Permits for learners are issued first and later tested by the Inspector of Motor Vehicles (IOV). When they pass the test, they are given the “Class B†that authorises one to drive dual purpose vehicles.
This means towards the end of this year, all paper driving permits will no longer be converted. Only those that were issued or renewed in 2005 and those worked on earlier will be processed.
Nathan Tumushabe, an inspector of vehicles with the works and transport ministry and the coordinator of the Face Technologies project, says applicants are ignorant about the act.
“The Act is very clear and we cannot operate out of it to please applicants. Any paper driving permit owner who did not renew is just process a fresh one and forfeit the classes and driving experience in the first permit,†he says.
There are classes that were endorsed on paper permits that are not needed when conversion is effected. During the 1990s, the Class E and CM were used for beginners. However, Class B is now in use for beginners.