Interior CS Fred Matiang’i on Monday tasked the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) with a new duty.
Speaking after meeting the authority’s new Board of Management for the first time, the CS tasked them with ensuring the road carnage is reduced by 50% in 2019.
“Honest and loyal leadership is what Kenyans are demanding and you must be directly accountable to them by enforcing all the laws ruthlessly and applying standards without compromising,” Matiang’i stated.
The CS equally tasked the board with the reduction of deaths on roads to near zero in the future.
Besides, Matiang’i asked the board members to be making regular visits on the ground to gather first-hand information.
The CS also warned about the improprieties reported at the NTSA including the cloning of number plates.
Matiang’i vowed to deal decisively with any officials found colluding with criminals to bypass the formal licensing procedures noting that the practice was costing the country billions in revenue.
Among the irregularities the CS seeks to address in NTSA is the issuance of car plates, issuance and renewal of driving licenses, and inspection of vehicles.
“Such irregularities have a ripple effect on our national security – the recent Dusit Hotel Complex attack is a case in point,” he added.
According to the Interior boss, investigations against individuals suspected of engaging in cloning of number plates and fraudulent registration of vehicles were at an advanced stage.
“Our statistics on road accidents does not reflect the number of roadworthy vehicles currently registered in our systems. These discrepancies imply that there could be several unroadworthy vehicles operating after passing our inspection tests irregularly,” he added.