Motorists will from January acquire new high-tech vehicle number plates after the government sought designs from three undisclosed countries.
The push for the smart plates comes in the wake of increased duplication of the current ones by tax- evasion cartels and criminals.
This has been revealed by Correctional Services Principal Secretary Zainab Hussein. The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) said it will directly issue a fresh tender to circumvent a legal hitch that blocked the Prisons department from picking a firm to supply the digital number plates.
Through the computerized number plates that have anti-counterfeit features including holograms, watermarks, and laser markers, police will trace information on particular vehicles and their owners.
The NTSA earlier said it is not part of a legal suit filed by one of the losing bidders for the contract to supply the new plates, arguing that this frees it to launch a fresh tender.
Ugandan firm, MIG International was awarded the Sh2 billion number plate supply deal in 2015 alongside Germany’s Hoffman International.
But the Public Procurement Administrative and Review Board (PPARB) annulled the tender following an appeal by Tropical Technologies.
The plates are connected to GPS transmitters inside the car and inform not only emergency services and the police in the event of an accident, but also other road users to warn them of traffic disruption.
The digital number plates would be synced up to a user’s account so that any outstanding parking fees, road fines or license plate renewals would be automatically deducted.
The plates could also change to display a special alert or some other form of warning if they’re stolen.