The National Transport Safety Authority (NTSA) has announced merging of the collection centres of the new motor vehicle registration number plates to contain new spread of Covid-19 pandemic as infections in Mombasa made a record high of 12 new cases yesterday.
In a statement, the authority refuted claims by car importers that hundreds of imported units now remain parked, as owners cannot drive them on the roads without proper registration.
However, NTSA noted that the car dealers have been collecting number plates from various Container Freight Stations in Mombasa.
The authority added that measures have been put in place to facilitate business continuity while adhering to measures aimed at curbing Coronavirus spread.
“After deliberations, it was resolved that some CFS (Container Freight Station) collection points be merged while taking into account the state of the facility in terms of space and other factors to implement the safety guidelines,” NTSA said.
The new move, according to NTSA, was arrived at after a consultation with the interior ministry, KRA, Motor vehicle dealers and CFSs.
It identified three points that had been tasked to issue the number plates. They include Kencott that will act as the collection point for Kencott and Mitchel Cotts.
NTSA said the collection point for Interpel and MCT will be located at CB2 while Autoport will be the collection point for Autoport and Unifreight.
“We assure the public that despite scaling down on operation in a bid to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, all our online services are available and the authority is working closely with all the relevant stakeholders to ensure service delivery is not adversely affected during this pandemic.” the authority added.
A day earlier, Car Importers Association of Kenya (CIAK) chairman, Peter Otieno, said NTSA should lift the suspension for at least two weeks to register new vehicles.
“Our members are stranded due to non-inspection of the already sold units. Vehicles which have been sold and advance tax and inspection bookings paid for should be registered,” Otieno was quoted by local press.
The NTSA scaled down operations in Mombasa on April 8 after Covid-19 infections soared at the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and Container Freight Station (CFS).
The country imports about 130,000 second-hand vehicles annually, with used cars enjoying 85 per cent of market share, where an estimated Sh60 billion is spent on these units annually.
The government has, however, been pushing for local car manufacturing despite sector players warning that the local market will not meet the demand.
The Economic Survey 2019 shows new registration of motor vehicles increased to 102,036 units in 2018 from 91,071 units in 2017.
Photo Credit: www.capitalfm.co.ke
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