MPs now plan to disband NTSA as road crashes rise unabated

NTSA officers inspect a matatu at road block along Nyeri-Nanyuki highway on December 15, 2017. Some legislators now want the authority disbanded saying it has failed to ensure safety on Kenyan road. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Senate Majority Leader Moses Wetang’ula said the authority should go.

  • Mr John Mbadi also dismissed the night travel ban as a knee-jerk reaction.

  • Mwingi Central MP Gideon Mulyungi said he will sponsor a Bill to repeal the NTSA Act.

Some legislators are now calling for the disbandment of the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), accusing it of incompetence.

They accuse NTSA Director-General Francis Meja of dereliction of duty following the death of 38 people at Migaa in Nakuru County on Sunday.

Senate Majority Leader Moses Wetang’ula said the authority should go.

“NTSA must be disbanded,” Mr Wetangula wrote in a tweet while accusing the authority of sending panic within the transport industry.

“You can’t run a 24hr economy by curtailing workers’ travel. The world is on the move.”

KNEE-JERK REACTION

His counterpart in the National Assembly, John Mbadi, also dismissed the night travel ban as a knee-jerk reaction that will not address the challenges witnessed on the Kenyan roads in the last few months.

“The ban is not a solution…it is more of an emotional outburst which worsens the situation,” Mr Mbadi told Nation, noting that what is needed is an honest enforcement agency that will implement the traffic rules according to the letter and spirit of the law.

“The laws exist, what is required is the will to enforce it. NTSA must ensure that drivers are not intoxicated and they must not be overworked through a heavy schedule.

“But this is not possible because what we have in Kenya is an enforcement institution system that has collapsed,” he said.

Mwingi Central MP Gideon Mulyungi said he will sponsor a Bill to repeal the NTSA Act, to disband the authority following high rate of crashes in the last one month in which nearly 350 people have lost their lives.

IMPROVE SAFETY

Speaking at Kalisasi in Mwingi, the legislator said that the reason behind the formation of NTSA was to improve safety on the roads and stop killings.

“I wonder why Kenyans are still witnessing more road accidents despite the formation of NTSA,” Dr Mulyungi said.

He accused NTSA of “allowing many people to die in road crashes” without taking appropriate measures.

“I will sponsor a Bill once we resume session to disband NTSA for failing to guarantee safety on our roads,” he said.

He cited corruption and collusion between NTSA officers and the police as the reasons why Kenyans have continued to die on the roads.

Kipkellion West MP Hillary Kosgey demanded the immediate sacking of Mr Meja for failing to discharge his mandate.

“It is not proper that he remains in office when Kenyans are dying on the roads,” the MP said, equally proposing to bring amendments to repeal the NTSA Act which establishes the authority.

Lugari MP Ayub Savula accused senior officials of the authority of using their positions to seek bribes instead of discharging their mandate.

Funyula MP Wilberforce Oundo questioned the need to allocate funds to NTSA yet safety on the roads has not been achieved.