Owners of vehicles and drivers are urged to book for the mechanical inspection of their automobiles at the nearest inspection centres, which were opened in different provinces.
Rwanda National Police (RNP), late last month opened three new Automobile Inspection Centres in the Southern Province (Huye town), Northern Province (Musanze town) and Eastern Province (Rwamagana town) to further improve and extend related services closer to the people as well as decongest the overbooked and overloaded Kigali Automobile Inspection Centres.
Despite opening these new inspections centres, owners and drivers in the countryside continue to book for inspection in Kigali, leading to congestion.
"We are still seeing people in regions where new centres were built, booking and coming to Kigali for inspection, which is unnecessary.
When booking, choose the inspection centre near you; there is no need of coming to Kigali from Rubavu when you have Musanze; it is equally a misplaced effort to drive from Nyagatare or Kirehe to Kigali when you have Rwamagana centre near you or skipping Huye for those in the far parts of the Southern Province and nearby districts,” said police spokesperson, CP John Bosco Kabera.
As of Wednesday, December 2, booking and appointment at Kigali Automobile Inspection Centre stretched up to February 2021.
"Kigali is over-booked and congested whereas regional centres have no vehicles to serve. For example, the last person who booked and received appointment for inspection in any of the regional centres is on this Thursday, December 3,” the spokesperson said.
Since the regional centres were launched on November 20, Musanze had inspected only 103 vehicles as of November 30 while Huye and Rwamagana Automobile Inspection Centres had 63 and 50 inspections, respectively.
Apart from the five-lane Kigali centre, which has the capacity to inspect at least 500 vehicles per day, each of the other two-lane regional facilities has the capacity for at least 200 daily inspections.
Kabera reminded that any person, who booked but feel their appointment for inspection in Kigali is scheduled at a farther date, can also go to any of the regional centres for the same service regardless of the given date.