Jubilee Deputy Party Leader Fred Matiang’i has called on the government to suspend the planned rollout of mandatory annual vehicle inspection.
In a statement on Sunday, June 28, Matiang’i described the new policy as ‘insensitive and unfair’ to millions of struggling Kenyans.
While acknowledging that road safety is a legitimate national objective, the former Interior Cabinet Secretary argued that the proposed policy lacks sufficient justification and fails to consider the economic hardships facing motorists.
“Road safety is a legitimate national objective. Every Kenyan wants safer roads, fewer accidents, and vehicles that meet acceptable safety standards.
“However, public policy must be evidence-based, proportionate, transparent, and sensitive to the economic realities facing citizens. The proposed inspection regime fails that test,” Matiang’i said.
He argued that high fuel prices, multiple taxes and levies, rising insurance premiums, costly vehicle maintenance, parking charges, and licensing fees already burden motorists.
According to Matiang’i, introducing another mandatory annual payment without clearly demonstrating its necessity would place an unnecessary financial burden on households and businesses already struggling with the rising cost of living.
He urged the government to immediately suspend the implementation of the directive and subject it to comprehensive public scrutiny before enforcing it.
“We therefore call upon the Government to immediately suspend the implementation of this directive and subject it to comprehensive public review,” he stated.
Matiang’i also challenged the government to publicly explain the rationale behind the new inspection policy.
Among the questions he raised was how many private vehicles would be affected by the policy and how much revenue the government expects to collect annually from the mandatory inspections.
He further questioned whether NTSA has evidence showing that annual inspections of vehicles older than four years would significantly reduce road accidents.
“What evidence demonstrates that annual inspections for vehicles older than four years will significantly reduce road accidents?” he asked.
The former Cabinet Secretary also asked the government to disclose what proportion of road crashes in Kenya is caused by mechanical defects compared to human error, poor road design, and traffic congestion.
In addition, he questioned whether NTSA has sufficient inspection capacity to efficiently serve millions of motorists without creating long delays or opening new opportunities for corruption and harassment.
“Does NTSA currently have sufficient inspection capacity to serve millions of motorists efficiently without creating long delays and opportunities for corruption?” Matiang’i posed.
The Jubilee Deputy Party leader further urged Parliament to subject the policy to immediate scrutiny and compel NTSA to table all supporting evidence before implementation proceeds.
