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Zambia bans second-hand imported vehicles without engine numbers

Zambia bans second-hand imported vehicles without engine numbers

The Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) of Zambia has banned the importation of motor vehicles that do not have engine numbers, according to a report on the Walvis Bay Corridor Group website.

In the latest development the Zambian agency spokesperson, Frederick Mubanga said the ban, which follows an influx of newly imported motor vehicles into the country without engine numbers, is effective 31 September 2018.

The Port of Walvis Bay in September 2017 grew by 15% over the last financial year, reaching a high of more than 40,000 tonnes, due to the transit volumes to Zambia.

Mubanga said that the agency in consultation with other stakeholders resolved that Interpol would carry out investigations to ascertain which vehicles were imported before the directive.

“To facilitate the registration of motor vehicles that were imported before this directive came into effect, the RTSA in consultation with all stakeholders resolved that INTERPOL will be investigating if indeed the vehicles in question came without an engine number and later provided a new one and recorded it in an improvised register.”

He said the agency together with other stakeholders further determined that importers should stop buying second hand vehicles without engine numbers. Mubanga also said that INTERPOL will further start allocating seven digits as engine numbers to those motor vehicles that were imported without engine numbers before the directive.

According to Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) CEO, Johny Smith the figures recorded in 2017 revealed the growing confidence on the Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Corridor (WBCNLDC), especially the Zambian market.


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SADC correspondents are independent contributors whose work covers regional issues of southern Africa outside the immediate Namibian ambit. Ed.