Summary:
- Ggoobi reminded Accounting Officers that the Government gazetted the Traffic and Road Safety Regulations 2022 under Statutory Instrument No. 49, mandating the registration of new number plates with enhanced security identification features, effective from 1st July 2023.
KAMPALA: The Ministry of Finance has directed all Accounting Officers of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to replace the current number plates with Digital Number Plates.
This move will require taxpayers to fund the Digital Number Plates project for Government vehicles and purchase digital number plates for their own private cars.
This directive is outlined in the 15th July 2024 Budget Execution Circular issued by Ramathan Ggoobi, Secretary to the Treasury, guiding Government bodies on managing the 2024/25 national budget.
Ggoobi reminded Accounting Officers that the Government gazetted the Traffic and Road Safety Regulations 2022 under Statutory Instrument No. 49, mandating the registration of new number plates with enhanced security identification features, effective from 1st July 2023.
“Accordingly, you are hereby reminded to ensure that all motor vehicles and motorcycles under your respective jurisdictions are issued the new enhanced number plates. Compliance with this directive is mandatory,” Ggoobi stated.
New vehicle and motorcycle owners will be required to pay Shs714,000 for the digital number plates, while already registered road users will pay Shs150,000 for vehicles and Shs50,000 for motorcycles.
During the consideration of the 2024/25 budget for the Uganda Police Force, the Force requested Parliament to provide Shs7.714Bn for purchasing new electronic number plates for their fleet. The Police noted that each vehicle requires Shs750,000 to be registered. With a fleet of 10,245 vehicles, the Force would require Shs7.714Bn.
Ggoobi also announced a ban on any new staff recruitments in the 2024/25 Financial Year unless explicit permission is granted by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Public Service.
The pronouncement was made by Ramathan Ggoobi, Secretary to the Treasury, in the July 2024 Budget Execution Circular, released to guide agencies on managing the 2024/25 national budget.
“There will be no recruitment of staff (public service or contract staff) during the financial year except on a replacement basis, in case of incapacitation, where funds have been provided for recruitment of teachers and health workers under the UGIFT Programme, and with explicit clearance from both the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Public Service. Accounting Officers are required to obtain clearance from the Ministry of Public Service before accessing newly recruited staff on the payroll,” Ggoobi wrote.
It should be recalled that in February 2023, the Auditor General conducted a national verification of the Government payroll covering four financial years, from 2019/20 to 2022/23. He recommended the recovery of Shs53Bn from 10,192 ‘ghost workers’ who had been drawing salaries from different Government bodies after some were found to have died, retired, or absconded from duty.
Now, Ggoobi has asked Accounting Officers to ensure that current and future Government employees only access the payroll after producing several documents, including National Identification Number (NIN), Tax Identification Number (TIN), IFMS Supplier Number, and Integrated Personnel and Payroll System (IPPS)/Human Capital Management Number.
