The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD) has received two new mobile laboratory units as part of the ongoing efforts to strengthen fuel quality monitoring and enforcement across the country.
The two facilities from SICPA Uganda bring the Ministry’s total number of labs to 10.
‘We are proud to work with the Ministry of Energy to strengthen fuel quality monitoring across Uganda,’ said Ms Suzan Mweheire Kitariko, General Manager of SICPA Uganda.
The Fuel Marking and Quality Monitoring Programme is designed to control and monitor the quality of petroleum products throughout Uganda’s supply chain. The programme has become a cornerstone of the country’s petroleum sector, delivering significant economic benefits through improved revenue collection, transparency, and market stability.
Implemented by SICPA Uganda under the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development and the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), the programme combats tax evasion, smuggling, and fuel adulteration, ensuring that all fuel sold in Uganda meets national quality standards.
‘The fuel marking programme helps us monitor fuel quality across the entire supply chain, ensuring consumers receive products that meet standards and preventing adulteration,’ said Mr Peter Kitimbo, the UNBS Fuel Quality Monitoring Programme (FQMP) Field Supervisor.
According to him, the system has strengthened the government’s fiscal position by reducing opportunities for tax fraud.
The FQMP project coordinator, Mr Steven Barisigara, noted that with the additional mobile labs, the Ministry’s capacity to expand coverage across the country will improve.
‘This enhancement strengthens our ability to monitor fuel quality nationwide,’ he said.
A mobile fuel laboratory provides a fast and accurate solution for field-based fuel quality checks. Equipped with portable, fully automated analysers, it enables a single Ministry technician to perform detailed fuel analyses efficiently and in real time. These mobile testing laboratories are used to conduct spot sampling and fuel quality tests at retail stations, as well as trucks in transit to ensure consistency and compliance throughout the supply chain.