Heavy truck-bodies are being fabricated in garages in Katwe, Kisenyi and Bwaise, following no particular parameters or regulations.
Peter Kimalen, the Deputy Officer in Charge of the Police Vehicle Inspection Unit, says that unqualified people are building truck bodies and these trucks are a danger on the roads.
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Kimalen says that simple mechanics and wielders are doing the work of engineers and car designers. He says that such people can't determine the truck's centre of gravity or engine power and are likely to design trucks which cannot balance on the road.
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Kimalen says that when the Certificate of Fitness was suspended in 1998, all manner of vehicles can now get on the road without pre-inspection.
Richard Kamya, a wielder in Katwe, says that he has been building truck-bodies for the last 10 years. He admits that his experience has purely been accumulated on the job. Kamya says that he always makes reference to trucks that he has seen before, to determine the dimensions of a truck-body.
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Kimalen explains that whenever such trucks are brought to him for inspection, he looks at the log book, to ascertain the engine power, the designated weight the truck is manufactured to carry and compares them with the weight the truck is actually carrying. He adds that if a truck doesn't meet the standards, it is de-registered.
The inspection unit doesn't have any clear parameters on what kind of standards these vehicles should meet.
Patrick Ssekitoleko, the Head of Quality Assurance at the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), admits that there is no clear standard under which such work is regulated.
He says however that starting November 1st, all vehicles will be inspected before they get into the country, and even those assembled here will be subjected to inspection before they are licensed.
