NAIROBI, Kenya Jun 28 \u2013 Jubilee Party Deputy Leader Fred Matiang\u2019i has criticized the Government\u2019s planned mandatory vehicle inspection programme, describing the proposed annual Sh2,000 fee for vehicles older than four years as insensitive and unfair to struggling Kenyans.<\/p>\n
In a statement issued Sunday, Matiang\u2019i said the directive by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), set to take effect on July 1, would place an additional financial burden on motorists already grappling with a high cost of living.<\/p>\n
Under the new policy, all private vehicles older than four years will be required to undergo annual inspections at a cost of Sh2,000, while motorcycles will also be subjected to mandatory inspection charges.<\/p>\n
Matiang\u2019i acknowledged that road safety remains important but argued that the policy lacks adequate public justification and fails to consider the prevailing economic hardships facing many households and businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cRoad safety is a legitimate national objective. However, public policy must be evidence-based, proportionate, transparent and sensitive to the economic realities facing citizens,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The former Interior Cabinet Secretary noted that Kenyans are already struggling with rising fuel prices, taxes, insurance costs, expensive spare parts, parking fees and licensing charges.<\/p>\n
He questioned the basis upon which the Government arrived at the decision, demanding that authorities publicly disclose data supporting the policy.<\/p>\n
Matiang\u2019i further challenged NTSA to explain how many vehicles would be affected, how much revenue the Government expects to collect annually and whether sufficient inspection capacity exists to serve millions of motorists efficiently.<\/p>\n
He also raised concerns that the programme could create opportunities for corruption and harassment of motorists.<\/p>\n
According to the Jubilee Party, vehicle condition is only one aspect of road safety and should not overshadow larger concerns such as reckless driving, speeding, drunk driving, poor road design and weak enforcement of traffic laws.<\/p>\n
\u201cRoad safety cannot be reduced to the collection of inspection fees,\u201d Matiang\u2019i stated.<\/p>\n
The opposition party is now calling for the immediate suspension of the directive pending public participation and parliamentary scrutiny.<\/p>\n
Matiang\u2019i insisted that economic recovery would not be achieved through additional levies and charges imposed on already burdened citizens.<\/p>\n
\u201cCitizens should never be treated merely as sources of revenue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He urged Kenyans to reject the policy in its current form and push for what he termed a transparent, evidence-based and affordable road safety framework.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NAIROBI, Kenya Jun 28 \u2013 Jubilee Party Deputy Leader Fred Matiang\u2019i has criticized the Government\u2019s planned mandatory vehicle inspection programme, describing the proposed annual Sh2,000 fee for vehicles older than four years as insensitive and unfair to struggling Kenyans. In a statement issued Sunday, Matiang\u2019i said the directive by the National Transport and Safety Authority […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-145075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145075\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}