NTSA put on the spot over Sh65m permits revenue
National Transport and Safety Authority Director-General George Njao speaks during the launch of the School Children Road Safety Initiative on July 1, 2022 at St Anne’s Primary School in Nairobi.
Members of Parliament have questioned the whereabouts of Sh65 million collected by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) as revenue from issuance of foreign vehicle travel permit fees.
The fee is dependent on the duration of applicants' stay within the country and the engine capacity of the vehicles used. In a report of state corporations, however, the National Assembly Public Investments Committee says supporting documents such as permits issued and application for renewal were not presented to the auditor for verification.
The lawmakers say without proper documentation from NTSA, it was not possible to confirm the exact sum collected by either Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) or NTSA and how it is being used.
“Although the management explained that the fee is collected by the KRA, evidence of the measures in place to ensure all revenue due is collected and accounted for was not provided for audit,” reads the report.
The safety authority, absolving itself from the allegations, told the committee that KRA collects the amounts, but they are in the process of developing a joint system for information sharing, adding that all the revenues received under this revenue stream were fully supported with schedules from the E-Citizen platform where it was collected.
NTSA, citing its absence at the border due to the East African Border protocol, which does not allow many agencies to be present at the border except KRA, says that based on mutual understanding, it had adopted a multi-agency team approach of end-to-end system integration with KRA and the Government Digital Payment Platform to ensure seamless service delivery.
“This initiative was intended to enhance automation of various processes, complete with a clear audit flow of all transactions for the three government entities,” NTSA told the committee.
It also told MPs that it was in the process of finalising engagement with KRA with a view to integrating their customs system with the Transport Integrated Management System to allow the Authority to have a role to play in the collection of the revenue.
It also pointed out that it is working towards signing a Service Level Agreement with KRA to align this revenue stream.
The committee now wants NTSA and KRA accounting officers to swiftly finalise the information-sharing agreement on imported vehicles and implement it in this financial year to ensure transparency.
