By Samuel Ouma
The government of Kenya has waived registration fees for all motorcycle operators.
The current initiative attempts to reform a sector that has been plagued by rude and rowdy operators who disrupt people’s quiet and ruin property.
Addressing the riders in a forum held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), Nairobi, on Wednesday, March 9, 2022, Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i said the directive was issued by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The CS noted that registration will be handled by the National Transport Safety Administration (NTSA), and that qualifying operators will be handed new smart cards.
The registration process will begin on Monday, March 21, 2022, and will take place in several Huduma centers across the country.
“From March 21, we will begin the registration exercise in each of our 52 Huduma centers across the nation, where they will be needed to fill out a form, and following registration, they will be handed smart riders license,” Matiang’i said.
Matiang’i identified cheap politics as the primary impediment to sector reforms, stating that he had previously compiled a detailed framework to lead the entire process.
At the same time, Matiang’i ordered regional commissioners to meet with operators on a monthly basis in order to better understand their concerns.
The order came a day after President Kenyatta ordered a nationwide crackdown on sector after a group of operators were filmed sexually harassing a woman in Nairobi’s Wangari Mathaai Road.
