Data Integration in Action in Uganda’s Driving Licence System
By UN Global Pulse (Uganda)
The first in our series on how data best practices are transforming Uganda’s public service delivery.
At around a quarter-past-one, Juma Ssekitoleko was leaving the premises of the Uganda Driver Licensing System (UDLS) after renewing his driver’s licence. The process had taken him less than 20 minutes. He could hardly believe it.
“Imagine, I paid 212,300 shillings (57 US dollars) in the bank, came here with the receipt and that’s all I needed. See, I’m walking out with my licence. No middleman, no delays, no threatening queues — it is really organised and I’m grateful for their services,” he said.
Mr. Ssekitoleko was benefiting from innovative data integrations that are revolutionising public services to citizens in Uganda. Data integration has already been identified as a key principle of the country’s unfolding National Data Strategy. This aligns with the United Nation’s transformational common agenda that calls for data as a critical capability for attaining the sustainable development goals.
Mr. Ssekitoleko recalled how he first got a driving licence back in the 1980s.
“It used to be a foldable three-page leaflet. You would pay Shs200 over the counter for a year, Shs600 for three years. Then you would be issued a receipt, which you would gum onto your permit.”
Applicants were at the mercy of third parties. “They would ask for money so you would be dealt with faster,” he said. “Otherwise you would brave the queue all day in rain or hot sun, or even return the next day to face the same challenges. But if you paid, these middlemen processed everything for you and you just received the licence.”
A younger man, Fred Kizito, agreed that the old system was corrupt and tiresome. “The people before were arrogant, they’d bark at you for any mistake. You had to be on time, otherwise you’d pay something to someone.”
If before, it took Mr. Kizito over two hours to get a licence, now it took only 30–40 minutes. “Even if you’re late, the services are quick,” he said. “I don’t know what has changed.”
Well, what has changed, according to Andrew Kagoda, Project Coordinator for the UDLS under the Ministry of Works & Transport, is greater integration among government agencies and an increase in data sharing.
“We are relying on the NIRA (National Identification & Registration Authority) database when authenticating people who come for our services,” he said. This not only improved efficiency but also weeded out fraudsters. “Suppose someone goes to NIRA and gives their name, then comes here with a different name. Linking up with NIRA ensures citizens with genuine biodata acquire government documents.”
James Okello, head of Security at UDLS, confirmed that using NIRA data had led to a sharp decrease in driving licence forgeries.
Mr. Kagoda also pointed out the advantage of the UDLS not taking money directly from clients but rather getting them to pay via the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).
“It shortens the process,” he said, explaining that clerks were no longer counting cash at the counter but scanning the barcode on URA receipts, finishing the job in seconds.
Acknowledging some public concern about the new, integrated system, Mr. Kagoda stressed that data was always kept safe during verification. (For example, the UDLS can only access four areas of bio data from NIRA — a person’s name, date of birth, gender and picture.)
But at the Ministry of Works & Transport, the ultimate vision was the “total integration of data among government agencies”, he said. And the Access to Information Act, does allow for data sharing and access among government ministries and agencies.
Complete integration would mean ending duplication of data such as photos and fingerprints, presently held by various ministries and agencies. “This would save government spending because we would get data from just one source — NIRA!” And it would foster data integrity too because “for anyone to make any changes in their data, we’d have to send them to NIRA first”.
UDLS services would get even better. “A person could come here empty-handed, just scan their fingerprint and be done with verification,” said Mr. Kagoda.
But what if the NIRA or URA systems went down? Mr. Kagoda admitted that could be a temporary problem but shouldn’t “limit the possibilities data integration is bringing onboard; it’s worth investing in”.
For integration to work, agencies must digitalise their operations, a process that is far from complete. For example refugees — and bear in mind that Uganda is one of the biggest hosts of refugees in Africa — are still outside the integrated system.
“Refugees have to be cleared by the Prime Minister’s office and they are still operating with spreadsheets,” said Catherine Nantume, Communications & Customer Care Manager at UDLS. “Until they develop a digital system, we shall have to keep requesting lists of those cleared for driving.”
Similarly, foreigners must have their passports checked for the immigration stamp.
Mr. Kagoda was quick to see scope for improvement here too. “We need to foster cross-country data sharing,” he said. “We should be able to authenticate these people directly from their home countries.”
Of course the police are also tapping into UDLS databases, “This is for traffic law enforcement,” said Mr. Kagoda. “We are building a points system where, if you breach traffic rules, your points are depleted until it gets to a point where your licence is suspended.”
“And you’ll be forced to go back to driving school and start the process afresh,” chipped in Ms. Nantume.
Besides law enforcement, UDLS data has value for research, policy and planning. “We have data on how many drivers are licensed, and drivers with different categories of licences — all this is available and can be utilised,” said Mr. Kagoda.
Technology aside, Pamela Ingabiire Musiime, Field Operations Manager at UDLS, said staff were mastering a system that puts clients first. The team had set a goal that clients should not spend more than 40 minutes on the premises. If they came ready with the necessary receipts, service would be prompt and efficient.
“We come from a point of ‘we don’t want to waste your time as a client’,” she said. “It’s a client-based service, you know, clients first!”
The integrated system first got going in March 2021 and has produced one of the fastest and most efficient public services in Uganda, serving 1,200 people daily in the Kampala office alone. “Our longest time is 45 minutes — that’s peak hours — and it can be as fast as 8 minutes if you come early in the morning,” said Mr. Kagoda.
Ms. Nantume joked: “Ugandans seem to have a lot of time. They come here ready to return in a few days and when you tell them they are walking out with their licence, they are wowed.”
It’s lunchtime and another client is walking up to the counter. Jackline Asasira is a public servant, who has to catch up with errands during her lunch break, even though this is peak time. But she finds the UDLS systematic and organised. “It’s lunch time, as you see, but I have been dealt with within an hour.
