Transporters to pay sh3.5b in fines to UNRA for overloading

PIC: Director road infrastructure protection Rueben Bwaruhanga addressing the press during the UNRA press briefing at their offices in Kampala on March 6, 2018. (Credit: Godiver Asege)

TRANSPORT
       
KAMPALA - Loading trucks beyond their axel load limits is now not only a risky business but also an expensive one, as new measures enforced by the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) start to bite.

Hardly a month since new guidelines on vehicle load come into force, UNRA is set to recover over sh3.5b from 129 trucks impounded for overloading, officials reveal.

UNRA's director for road infrastructure protection, Eng. Reuben Byaruhanga, disclosed on Tuesday that that the authority had so far received sh420m in fines from the vehicles and offenders in one month.

The stiffer penalties for overloading under new regulations are designed to protect the tarmac road network from wear and tear, largely attributed to excess loading for cargo vehicles.
 
The new UNRA Vehicle Dimensions and Load Control Regulations, 2017 were unveiled in November last year and came into force on February 5.

According to Byaruhanga, overloading has been a major contributor to damage on the country's tarmac road network, which has become expensive to build and maintain.

It costs about $1m (sh3.6b) to build one kilometer of tarmac in Uganda. The country spends about $64m (sh234b) annually on maintenance of damaged roads, according to a UNRA survey.

Prohibitive penalties
The new fines are intended to make it counterintuitive for any transporter to load trucks beyond their designated axel load specifications.

Under the new regulations, the lowest fine (for 500kg excess load) is $90.5 (sh328,000), while the highest fine is $145,900 (sh528m) for 31.5 tones in excess weight.

The regulations provide a daily charge of $150 (sh543,000) after the initial three days as truck detention fees and the option of auctioning the truck and cargo if the fines are not cleared within 60 days.

The regulations are aligned to the East African Community (EAC) Vehicle Control Act, which was passed by the Council of Ministers and presidents of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.

Although the new guidelines have elicited resistance from some business persons, major transporters and their umbrella association have embraced them, according to letters seen by New Vision.

New weighbridges

UNRA has intensified checks on cargo trucks using not only fixed, but also mobile weighbridges spread across the country.

The authority is preparing to procure six new mobile weighbridges to increase inspection, bringing the figure to 10. Additional fixed weighbridges are due to be set up in Kasese, Rakai and Amuru districts.

The axel load control operations started in 2008 as a result of rapid deterioration of major roads and about 100,000 vehicles were checked annually.

At the time, it was found that more than half (54%) of all trucks examined at weighbridges were loaded way above their acceptable axel load limits.

In 2015, the operation of weighbridges was suspended and all staff laid off as a result of rampant corruption in enforcement operations.

Following new reforms at UNRA three years ago, weighbridges were reinstituted and punitive fines have been introduced for offenders.