Ministry Records Show Shs3bn Spent on Driving Permit Data Recovery Project by December 2015

What the report says

Ministry records cited by Nile Post indicate that the Ministry of Works and Transport had spent more than Shs3 billion on the Uganda Computerised Driving Permit (UCDP) data recovery project by December 2015, even though the facility was reported to be only 50 per cent complete at that point. The project was meant to provide a backup and business continuity site for driving permit records, helping operations continue if the main Kyambogo facility in Kampala was disrupted.

The article says a 2014 procurement record shows the contract was negotiated with Face Technologies (Pty) Limited for about US$1.6 million. The agreement covered supply, installation and commissioning of equipment for the recovery centre and related works, and the company was already running the main permit production and issuance system. The ministry’s team said the backup arrangement would allow permit services to resume with minimal delay if the primary site failed.

According to the budget documents referenced in the report, the ministry had spent Shs3.022 billion against an approved budget of Shs3.725 billion under the relevant equipment and software line by the end of December 2015. The same records say the works completed included cabling, CCTV cameras, air conditioners and furniture, while completion of the recovery centre and continuity site remained a planned output for the following financial year.

Nile Post notes that the records raise unresolved questions about whether the project was finished, when it was commissioned, and whether it ever became fully operational. The report also places the project in the wider context of Uganda’s permit system, which was later due to shift away from Face Technologies, though that transition faced delays.