Uganda spends Shs2 trillion on import of motor vehicles, says Ministry of Finance

Uganda had spent about Shs2 trillion on the importation of motor vehicles in the year 2019. The data was provided by the Ministry of Finance, according to a news report by The Monitor.

According to a report, the Shs2 trillion was a part of the Shs28.5 trillion that was spent on at least 1,500 categories of imports in the period ended December 2019.

The report indicates, passenger vehicles took the largest share of the motor vehicle import bill costing the country 182.4milion dollars (Shs693b).

This was followed by vehicles that carry goods with 132million dollars (Shs501b). In the same category motorcycle imports are captured with the country spending 75.5million dollars (Shs286b).

Other notable imports under this category, the report notes, included tractors, public transport vehicles, which cost Uganda 40million dollars (Shs152b) and 27million dollars (Shs102b), respectively.

Special purpose vehicles such as cranes, fire-fighting trucks, trailers and semi-trailer, and bicycles were the other imports in this category.

Uganda is a net importer with much of the country's motor imports sourced from Japan, India, South Africa, the UK, and Germany.

Records from Uganda Revenue Authority indicate that in the period a total of 42,681 motor units were cleared to enter the country.

However, this was a drop from the 48,966 units that had been cleared in the same period in 2018.

Recently, the URA former customs commissioner, Dickson Kateshumbwa, said there had been a decline in the motor vehicle imports due to the ban on cars older than 15 years.

In June 2018, Parliament passed a law that banned the importation of cars manufactured earlier than 2003 due to an increase in emission of toxic fumes and environmental damage.

Uganda, through Kiira Motor Corporation, has been attempting to manufacture motor vehicles locally. However, the corporation is yet to build sufficient capacity for mass production.