ITMS Accelerates New Number Plate Production Following Minister’s Directive

The Intelligent Transport Monitoring System (ITMS) has significantly accelerated the production and issuance of new number plates following the intervention and directive of the Hon.Fred Byamukama, Minister of Works and Transport, to restore normal service delivery and clear the current backlog.

The arrival of critical electronic components, coupled with strengthened production processes and improved logistics, shows the ongoing efforts in ITMS project development. Following the arrival of the latest consignment, Mr. Austine Egesa, the production manager, says it’s not business as usual, as the priority is to fully implement the Minister’s directive and restore stable, reliable service delivery as quickly as possible.

“Following the Minister’s intervention, production of new number plates has significantly accelerated; people are working like ants. The factory is operating at full capacity, the backlog is steadily decreasing, component supplies have stabilised, and customers are already receiving their number plates.” Egesa noted

ITMS remains fully committed to implementing the Hon. Minister’s directive by streamlining all operational processes within the next three weeks and fully stabilising both first-time registration and post-registration (migration) services by 30 August 2026.

“Our teams are working around the clock to ensure that production remains at full capacity. We are committed to implementing the Minister’s directive by clearing the current backlog and restoring efficient, reliable service delivery to all Ugandans,” Steven Turyarugayo, ITMS Public Relations Consultant, said.

This renewed effort reflects ITMS’ unwavering commitment to delivering efficient, transparent, and customer-centred services while supporting Uganda’s broader digital transformation agenda.

As production accelerates, customers whose applications have already been processed will continue receiving notifications for collection as their number plates become available.

Background

According to the ITMS officials, there have been disruptions that affected the timely issuance of registration plates to motorists, which they attribute to geopolitical instability in the Middle East, which affected international shipping routes and the timely delivery of components.

Statistics from the Motor Vehicle Registration (MVR) department indicate more than 47,000 motorists have applied to migrate from the old registration plates to the new registration plates. Of these, approximately 1,384 applicants have completed payment and are awaiting production and issuance of their number plates (since the Minister Visit the actual backlog reduced by 39.5%).

It is important to note that the current production framework for post-registration (migrate from the old registration plates to the new registration plates) was originally designed to cater for exceptional circumstances such as lost, stolen, damaged, or defaced number plates.  

”Per our agreement with the government, ITMS only produces 100 number plates for those people who migrate from old to new digital number plates, and the priority here is damaged, lost or those with functionality issues with their number plates. The number can only go up when the government meets its commitment of the business model because replacing an old number plate to a new one costs Shs 150,000. However, a new number plate for first time registration costs Shs 714,000. The balance, per the agreement, was to be covered by the express penalty collections but the government has since halted the express penalty system, and as a result, the contractor is strained by producing numb er plates for people migrating from old to new, leaving a gap, and these are the people making the most alarm,” reads a document seen by this publication.

Large-scale migration by existing vehicle owners will start after government launches support mechanism for secondary vehicle registration.

Despite these challenges, production for first-time vehicle registrations has remained stable throughout. The facility currently has the capacity to produce approximately 2,500 number plates per day, translating into nearly 50,000 number plates every month, which is sufficient to meet the demand for newly registered vehicles.

To strengthen supply chain resilience, ITMS has successfully diversified its logistics arrangements by rerouting shipments through Oman and Qatar, ensuring a more reliable and sustainable flow of components into Uganda.