By Eugene Mutara
The New Times

Following the Cabinet decision of May 18 putting a ban on the importation of right-hand drive cars, there has been a general drop in vehicle imports in the country, The New Times has established.

According to records at the Customs Department of Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA), there were twenty eight public transport vehicles (omnibuses) imported in June, a number that went down to 24 in July and, sixteen in August. For saloon cars and jeeps (4x4s), the statistics indicate that imports decreased in the three months, with one hundred and ninety nine cars imported in May, 185 and 152 saloon cars and jeeps imported in June and July, respectively.

However, despite the reduction in imports, the taxes collected over the same period shot up by Frw 656 million. Based on the above data, there was a 17 % decrease in the number of car imports but the taxes collected increased by over 42 % between the month of June and July. Also, between May and August there was a 9% decrease in car imports but a 200% increase in the taxes collected.

An official at the Customs Department attributed the rise in taxes paid to the importation of ‘new and expensive brands’ but there were mixed reactions from car dealers on the impact on their businesses.

Jean D’Arc Kabega, who runs a clearing and forwarding agency in Magerwa, said that the effect of the decision was temporary.

“At the moment the left-hand cars may be more expensive but it is just a matter of time and the prices will stabilize; there will be no big difference,” Kabega told The New Times. Kabega, who said she had been in the business for about seventeen years, noted that most people buy the cars from Dubai, ‘where the market is dominated by right hand cars’. She added that the change to car markets like Japan may be the cause of the price increase, adding however, that the decision is for the good of the people.

“I lived here before the war; I never used to see right-hand cars and even though I own one, I believe the decision is good for we shall in future benefit since traffic will be in order. My only worry is that the four years are simply too little if one is to consider the life span of a car,” Kabega said.

Joseph Mabuye, the Deputy Managing Director of the shipping company COIMEX, said the company had recorded a big slump in car imports since the ban was effected.

Contrary to the RRA statistics however, Mabuye claimed his company used to import over two hundred right hand saloon cars. He said that COIMEX now brings in just ten cars, paying an average tax of about Frw 1.5 million per car, causing a revenue shortfall of Frw1.14 billion from COIMEX alone.

However, the Commissioner for Customs Mary Baine denied there was a ‘significant drop’ in the number of imported cars.

“Maybe there was shock for a few weeks but now people have adjusted and started importing from other countries (where left-hand cars are in use),” Baine said on phone Thursday. She also dismissed COIMEX’s claims, saying the figures Mabuye gave were unrealistic.

“Those figures are on the ‘upper side’; they were exaggerated because the department collects about five billion Francs every month. So, for someone to say that we had lost about 1.5 billion in revenue is an exaggeration,” she added.

Background

According to a source from the Ministry of Infrastructure, the idea was mooted way back in 1995 during a seminar that was presided over by the then Minister of Transport, Dr. Charles Murigande.

The source said that at the time the ministry was focusing on public transport, because the omnibuses had exits on the left. “This would put passengers at risk of accidents since they would board or exit the buses on the side used by other traffic,” the source, who spoke to The New Times on condition of anonymity, said.

When contacted however, Murigande was reluctant to be drawn into the issue. “The Ministry of Infrastructure should be in position to say if the decision is based on recommendations from the seminar or not. I left the ministry in March 1997, it is now eight years. The current Minister should be the one to talk about that not me,” he said.

Efforts to contact the Minister of Infrastructure, Evariste Bizimana, on phone were fruitless but a senior official at the ministry said that there was a negative public response then. He added that all was being done to ensure that the directive is adhered to.

“We shall not wait for catastrophes so as to act on the prevailing problem; look at the Tsunami and other disasters, how harmful they have been; we want to act before something happens. We shall not, therefore, wait for accident cases to pile, then examine strategies to reduce them,” Innocent Kabogoza, the Transport Officer said, adding: “in the East African countries, where they observe the ‘Keep Left Policy’, one has to get authorization from the respective authorities to drive a left-hand vehicle.” Kabogoza also noted that Rwanda is a signatory to the UN Vienna Convention on Traffic that obliges signatories to import cars with steering wheels that are on the opposite side on which cars drive.

President’s glamour of hope

During a recent radio talk show, President Paul Kagame shed more light on the issue, offering a glamour of hope to many owners of right hand cars. “If the time elapses (four years) and we discover there is a problem, people will sit and seek solutions,” said the president when asked about what will happen to the sound right hand cars after the designated period. The President however, noted that the move was an important step towards curbing accidents.

Changing of steering wheels

With many cars in country being right hand drive, one of the options the car owners are toying with is to shift the steering wheels to the left, an issue that has attracted criticism from the public.

Ravi Gorajia, the Technical Director of prominent Toyota dealers, Akagera Motors, said garages in the country had no capability to change of the steering wheels. “No single garage in Rwanda can convert the right hand drive cars in the country. It is so technical; all engine systems have to be changed. What garages can do is to simply cut wires and force spares or parts to turn to the opposite direction, which is dangerous for the passengers,” Gorajia observed, adding that his company will not pursue the venture. He said the company had been approached by many people, with a view of establishing whether it could convert their cars.

“Many people including those from government have approached me about converting cars, but we will not engage in that business; it is very risky, in only six months the converted is bound to cause accidents,” Gorajia explained, adding that those who are contemplating venturing in the deal are doing it for purely commercial purposes, “without caring about the safety of people.” He added that any conversion affects the most sensitive parts of the car like brakes, steering-wheel, air-conditioning systems.

“When you convert a car, you need proper parts for the right fittings as far as the systems are laid under the bonnet; it is not simply cutting and forcing fittings to another direction like I have heard many people planning. Even Dubai cannot convert these cars properly, the only option would be changing the dashboard, and this requires another car that is also left-hand drive,” Gorajia said, adding: “It is a big and expensive job; it would cost at least from US$4000 (Frw 2.24 million) to US $5000 (Frw 2.8 million) to convert a car, if we chose to do it.” However, other garages visited confirmed their ability to convert the cars. Sulfo Garage in Muhima said that they have the ability. The mechanics said they would shop for the spare parts from Uganda, adding that the cheapest conversion would cost about one million francs. SAR Motors in Remera also said they were able to convert the cars at a minimum cost of about Frw. 600,000, depending on the type of vehicle. Other local garages also claimed ability, with their prices ranging from Frw 600,000. “The conversion cost may even be higher than the cost of the vehicle if one was to sell it taking into consideration the depreciation,” a mechanic at SAR said.

Experience

Paul Winter, an American car dealer, shared his experience on changing steering wheels through e-mail. Winter’s family attempted to change their car, a Studebaker, to a Right-Hand Drive during their stay in Sri Lanka. “It turned out to be a very long job.” Winter wrote, adding that ‘one has to first obtain a dashboard, steering box and sundry other bits and pieces depending on the make of the car, for example wipers which may have the wrong sweep’. “It wasn’t at all easy and it took months of work. US specialists may have had experience of doing it to a Cadillac or something expensive like a Hummer. Cheaper cars just don’t get converted as they are not worth doing!” Winter wrote, emphasizing that a trained mechanic is needed for the task.

Option of changing traffic flow

With the majority of cars being right-hand drive, one person said the country should have changed the road rules, to drive on the left. He said that Nigeria, Sweden and Switzerland successfully altered the traffic direction. But Kabogoza argues that the government cannot afford the transition costs that would be incurred through such a change. He says the venture ‘would involve a lot of sensitization countrywide’.