Tap into fancy car plates
A roadblock mounted by traffic police officers in conjunction with the National Transport and Safety Authority along Langata Road, Nairobi on April 13, 2021.
What you need to know:
So fancy and glossy are the laser print number plates and their inscriptions portray modern presentability.
Now that the public has expressed an interest in these plates, NTSA can tap into it and produce them.
The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has intensified nationwide crackdown of motor vehicles that are in violation of Rule 5(a) of the Traffic (Registration Plates) Rules 2016.
Inasmuch as the crackdown is valid, reasonable and rational, the agency led by Director-General George Njao needs to relook into this matter pragmatically and resolutely.
As a public entity, I trust that NTSA is in embrace of dynamism to accommodate public views for better service delivery as was the case with the customised number plates, where individuals’ names and personalised symbols were allowed for number plates such as SONKO, RUDISHA, MARIGA, BOSS LADY.
So fancy and glossy are the laser print number plates and their inscriptions portray modern presentability. The numbers are an international trend with vehicles from countries such as Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa and the United States having embraced them.
Kenyans are known for innovativeness and technology leaders in Africa; it’s ironical to lag behind in this aspect.
New generation plates
Now that the public has expressed an interest in these plates, the NTSA can tap into it and produce them at their Kamiti Maximum Prisons production facility and replace the old ones at a fee.
That will generate some income for Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) instead of losing a business opportunity to unscrupulous individuals at Industrial Area.
It can also float tenders for production of the new generation plates. This will be a worthy source of employment, especially at such a time when jobs have been lost due to the Covid-19 adversaries.
Issuance of motor vehicle number plates remains the sole mandate of NTSA, and every motorist needs to understand this. It is necessary that protocols and procedures be followed to avoid squabbles.
There need to be an interactive platform between the authority and the public for customer feedback, recommendations and expectations.
Mr Gisemba is a high school teacher of English. [email protected].
