NAIROBI,Kenya, Mar, 9 – All boda boda operators in the country will have to register with a recognized Sacco and obtain a smart rider’s license within 60 days in the latest effort to instill order in the sector.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i further announced that the government has waived the license fees and directed Huduma centers to set up special desks for Boda Boda to enable the nearly 2.4 million riders obtain the document within the period.
“His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta has waived the Sh5,800 registration fees. From 21st of this month, NTSA will begin the process of registering and issuing smart riders’ license to boda boda riders from all our 52 Huduma Centers,” he said.
Within the next seven days, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) will set up a dedicated desk at every Huduma Center to fast-track the process, the CS said.
He was speaking during a meeting with representatives of the Boda Boda Association of Kenya in Nairobi led by the national chair Kevin Mubadi and at the Kenyatta International Conference Center.
The meeting was also attended by the CS, ICT Joe Mucheru, PSs Dr. (Eng.) Karanja Kibicho (Interior) and Eng. Joseph Njoroge (Transport), Inspector General of Police Hilary Mutyambai and the National Transport Safety Association (NTSA) Director General George Njau.
The Boda Boda SACCOs will be required to be registered with the Commissioner of Cooperatives and must prepare updated digital registers of their members.
Dr. Matiang’i said the licensing and registration will help minimize incidents like the latest sexual molestation of a female motorist along the Wangari Mathaai road.
Several suspects have been arrested and arraigned over the incident while detectives are pursuing others who are on the run.
Matiang’i also directed all Regional Commissioners and County Commissioners to hold monthly meetings with county and sub-county boda boda representatives to ensure compliance with the regulations.
The CS said the Boda Boda menace has morphed into a genuine threat to national security and said the vetting of all operators will isolate criminals and protect the reputation of law-abiding operators engaged in legitimate occupation.
“Comparatively, eight out of 10 riders are straightforward people who want to eke out a genuine living, and move on and raise their families. So, two or three of them are the ones who have infiltrated the sector. I want to ask you genuine operators, this is the time to stand up not only for the sector but also for our country,” he said.
The CS warned against the politicization of the ongoing crackdown and the efforts to streamline the sector and singled out MPs for opposing the reforms.
“The cheap populism that has been using boda boda as the core basis of mobilisation for politics is what is destroying the sector. The most abused sector by politicians is boda boda. It has now created a strange culture of impunity. We have to fight this thing and refuse it completely.”
A joint inter-ministerial committee comprising Principal Secretaries for Interior, Transport, ICT, and Cooperatives will oversee the implementation of the new directives.
Other members of the team will be draw from the National Police Service (NPS), NTSA, the National Youth Service (NYS), and the President’s Delivery Unit (PDU)
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