Kampala, Uganda |Owners and drivers of vintage cars in Uganda have increased pressure on the government to incorporate old registration numbering systems in the automated vehicle register.
Vintage cars are those considered belonging to older generations and of high value because of their rarity today.
Most of these vehicles, mainly cars, vans, scooters and motorcycles bear the six character registration numbers in the form UAA 001, while those registered in 1999 and later are numbered as UAA 001A on top of the characters being smaller.
However, over the last three years, the owners of the vintage cars have been forced to replace the registration plates with the current ones so as to be on the right side of the laws.
Frederick Nsibambi, the Deputy Executive Director, Cross Culture Foundation of Uganda says the cars, like any other vintage item art of the heritage of Uganda and must be preserved. He was speaking at the launch of a campaign by the CCFU and Uganda Railways Corporation, that aims to locate historic properties using vintage cars as the point of attraction.
The Vintage Collectables Rotary Fellowship (VCRF), a group of enthusiasts of old cars handed over a copy of the petition they earlier gave to parliament to Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala, the Ministry of Works and Transport a copy of the petition over the registration numbers.
Mackay Mwebingwa, the Chairman of the group, that they are finding it difficult to sell, buy or restore the vehicles or even pay for their insurance since the government, through Uganda Revenue Authority, automated the register.
Unfortunately, he said, while some owners have complied so as to keep their cars on the road, the vehicles have lost their identify and attractiveness, because the old numbers are part of what makes them more admirable.
This also increases the already high cost of maintaining the vehicles.;
Mwebingwa said that they find it hard to maintain the cars especially due to the roads infrastructure which was meant to cater for fewer vehicles. He said, for example, that the technology used in such vehicles was based on how crowded the roads were, because they relied on sacking fresh air for the engine to keep running well.
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