Government will issue new five -year driving licences , the Minister of Works and Transport Gen. Katumba wamala has announced. “The driving license will last five years as opposed to the old three years’ driving permits . The new driving licenses will be allowed across the East African region. One can decide to pay for one year or five years for the driving license,” Gen Edward Katumba Wamala, the Minister for Works and Transport stated at the Uganda Media Centre.
That’s one advantage not to inconvenience the customers. It can be used within Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) as well. It will also show your National ID information.” The minister said that starting from next month, the country will shift from the current Uganda Computerized Driving System to the Uganda Driving Licences System which he said is more sophisticated and allows for the issuance of the new driving licences that are more internationally recognized and handled by Uganda Security Printing Company (USPC), a company that is partially owned by government.
According to Winston Katushabe, the Commissioner of Transport and Road Safety in the Ministry of Works and Transport, the new driving licences will cost between shs50, 000 , shs150,000 and 250,000 for the one year, three year and five-year validity respectively. “The above costs will be for the first-time applicants but for renewal will go for shs50,000, shs130,000 and 230,000 for the one year, three year and five-year validity respectively,” Katushabe said. Minister Gen Katumba Wamala noted that the new driving licences that will be issued from the Uganda Railways building at Nasser Road in Kampala by the new company will see no cash payments at the new facilities.
“The payment for the driving licence will now be consolidated and payable at once. There will be no cash payments accepted at the facility as has been the case with the previous service provider. Rather, all fees will be payable to URA through the various methods that drivers have been using to pay government fees on the previous system,” he noted. “This is going to be as fast, as efficient and as convenient as it can.
