The executive director Uganda National Bureau of Standards, Dr. Terry Kahuma has attacked the ministry of finance and Uganda Revenue Authority for failing them to carry out inspection of the vehicles before leaving Japan to Uganda.
Kahuma who had appeared before the trade, industry and tourism committee on Friday said that UNBS had plans to inspect the cars from Japan to ensure cars are safe before entering the country but that the ministry of finance and URA stopped their plans.
The Ministry and URA claimed that they already carry out pre-shipment inspection and it would be a duplication of duties if UNBS was to do another inspection. Some car traders had been pressuring the government with this very reasoning.
But Kahuma says that what they intended to do is different from pre-shipping inspection which he said was only after checking the quantity of goods. He says the UNBS check is after ascertaining the quality of the vehicles entering the country before they leave their place of origin.
The minister for investment Aston Kajara defended the finance ministry saying that it was an agreement reached at by the cabinet not only by the ministry of finance and URA as stated by Kahuma.
This raised different reactions from the MPs on that committee as the MP for Samia Bugwe north John Mulimba emphasized the need for checking the vehicles before leaving Japan for Uganda but Felix Okot Ogong rubbished it saying that the Ugandan government should come to an agreement with the Japanise government on the quality of Vehicles that should be sent to Uganda without necessarily paying a private company to undertake inspections.
By Isaac Senbaulya
