Uganda bans import of old cars

Uganda’s parliament has passed legislation banning the import of vehicles older than 15 years.

The policy is meant to fight environmental pollution and help reduce road accidents, which have been blamed on older cars.

Curbing pollution and improving road safety have become major points of debate in Uganda.

Uganda observed three days of national mourning this week following a bus accident over the weekend, which killed more than 20 people.

Recent surveys have named the capital, Kampala, as one of the most-polluted cities in Africa.

But car importers warn banning old vehicles will lead to job losses and make it harder for poorer Ugandans to afford a car.

A new car, which is often expensive, incurs taxes of more than 50%.

To encourage Ugandans to buy newer cars, lawmakers removed an environmental levy on cars below eight years of age.

Last year, Ugandans imported an average of 2,500 used cars per month.

Neighbouring Kenya stopped the importation of vehicles older than eight years old earlier this year.

-BBC

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ABOUT: Nana Kwesi Coomson

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An Entrepreneur, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Communications Executive and Philanthropist. Editor-in-Chief of www.233times.com. A Senior Journalist with Ghanaian Chronicle Newspaper. An alumnus of Adisadel College where he read General Arts. His first degree is in Bachelor of Arts - Political Science (major) and History (minor) from the University of Ghana. He holds MSc in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Energy with Public Relations (PR) from the Robert Gordon University in the United Kingdom. He is a 2018 Mandela Washington Fellow who studied at Clark Atlanta University in USA on the Business and Entrepreneurship track.

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