Road users in the country have been urged to be extra cautious during this festive season to avert accidents claiming lives.
This appeal was made by National Transport and Safety Authority NTSA.
Rift Valley Regional Manager Joseph Gichohi noted that if Kenyans can have behavioural change, then statistics on roads will also change.
“It all begins with our behaviors while on the road. If we can improve on that then we are good to go and the number of accidents shall reduce” he said.
He spoke on Tuesday at Mau summit Centre in Nakuru county during an event by Office of the Government spokesperson in collaboration with NTSA on road safety awareness and discipline.
He pointed out that vehicles with spotlights will not be allowed on roads as they also contribute to accidents.
Sentiments echoed by Government spokesperson Rtd Col Cyrus Oguna who called for discipline among road users.
Oguna reiterated the government commitment towards addressing the challenges on main highways.
“We shall play our part as Government but then Kenyans too and moreso road users must adhere to traffic rules.We don’t want to here of lives lost through accidents” said Oguna.
Nakuru County Senator Susan Kihika has lauded president Uhuru Kenyatta for sending NTSA out of the roads.
Posting on her popular Facebook page, the senator said this was an answer to the cries, please and prayers of the Kenyan people.
“The cries, pleas and prayers of Kenyans regarding the high rate of road accidents and resultant fatalities under the watch of NTSA have finally been answered,” wrote the senator regarding the move.
Following the move, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) will keep off the roads and leave policing and enforcement to the police traffic department. NTSA will now concentrate on its core mandate of formulating policies, strategies and advisory to the government on transport safety.
The senator adds that she’s personally grateful to the president as she has been urging for the removal of the NTSA from the roads.
“I feel vindicated because this is what we have been urging NTSA management to do especially regarding the Salgaa black spot,” wrote Kihika.
“Kenyans now look forward to a more strict traffic enforcement that will enhance safety on our roads,” says the senator.
She has also urged drivers to observe traffic rules as the government works towards a long-term solution for the Salgaa – Sachangwan stretch which is a dual carriageway.
The move by the president has received a lot of praise from Kenyans across the board who have always felt that NTSA was overstepping its mandate. The attacks on NTSA have especially intensifies in the last few months with the rising number of accidents on the roads.
President Uhuru Kenyatta made the announcement banning NTSA from the roads at Maili Tatu in Meru County at the funeral service of three bishops of the African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa (AIPCA).
The three bishops – Philip Kubai, chairman of the AIPCA B Synod from Ntonyiri Diocese, Moses Ntoeruri of Igembe Diocese and Bishop Stanley Karuru from Igembe Central Diocese – died on December 29 in a road accident at Wamumu in Mwea, Kirinyaga County.
Two weeks back, Nakuru County Senator Susan Kihika said that NTSA had lost direction. She said that by taking over the policing role which it was not properly empowered to do, the state agency had neglected its core mandate and taken on a role that only ended up bringing confusion on the roads.
“It is sad that NTSA apparently lost direction on its core policy mandates and diverted to enforcement knowing it had neither capacity nor personnel,” senator Susan Kihika had said adding that the agency was attracted by the quick money they could make through exhorting bribes from motorists.
Blogger Cyprian Nyakundi an influential Kenyan blogger who has also hit out on NTSA took to social media to thank the president for the move.
On behalf of the Kenyan male fraternity and the Boy-Child at large, I would like to take this opportunity to thank President Uhuru Kenyatta for hearing the cry of the people and reigning in on this notorious body called NTSA,” tweeted Nyakundi.
As the debate on road accidents continues, Senator Susan Kihika has once again taken a swipe at the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) saying the state agency has lost direction.
The outspoken first-time senator has in the recent past been vocal on road safety especially regarding the Salgaa-Sachangwan stretch which lies in Nakuru County. The 14 KM stretch on the Nakuru – Eldoret road has in the last three months claimed over 100 lives in accidents.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, January 3, 2018, Senator Kihika said NTSA had neglected its core mandate and undertaken roles for which it had no capacity to handle.
“It is sad that NTSA apparently lost direction on its core policy mandates and diverted to enforcement knowing it had neither capacity nor personnel,” wrote Susan Kihika adding that the agency was attracted by the quick money they could make through exhorting bribes from motorists.
As she castigated NTSA for overstepping its mandate, Senator Susan Kihika says that the agency was not meant to undertake enforcement but to formulate policies.
“NTSA was never formed to undertake policing and enforcement. It was to involve and consult stakeholders in the sector in order to formulate proactive policies, initiate measures and preventive strategies against accidents, regulate operators, Saccos, drivers, driving schools and others with thorough vetting, standardization, compliance and regular reviews,” says Kihika.
NTSA officers on the road
In the same post, the senator has faulted the NTSA for banning night travel saying this was just another knee-jerk reaction that would end up punishing Kenyans.
“Banning of night travel by long-distance public transport vehicles is double-edged and foolhardy. It will only make Kenyans suffer more. They will be overcharged and inconvenienced on travel especially the time to take children to school,” she says adding that for a country that is looking forward to being a 24-hour economy, banning night travel was a step in the wrong direction.
Nakuru County Senator Hon Susan Kihika has undertaken to step up her campaign to end accidents at the Salgaa black spot.
The stretch of road has been notorious in claiming lives of many travellers and leaving others maimed through road accidents. This has especially escalated over the last few weeks with several fatal accidents having occurred on the Nakuru – Eldoret road particularly at Salgaa and Sachangwan.
In a post on her Facebook page, Senator Kihika took a swipe at the National Transport and Safety Authority accusing it of failing on its core mandate.
“NTSA appears to have failed on its functions. An appraisal of the many fatalities witnessed on our roads reveals a deplorable performance of this institution that is at variance with the public expectations,” wrote Senator Kihika adding that NTSA cuts the image of an arrogant institution that is insensitive to the concerns of Kenyans.
Nakuru County Senator Susan Kihika
According to her, the institution was supposed to end corruption on roads and clean the driving licence cartels by cutting bureaucracy and creating efficiency through stakeholder involvement.
To rectify the wrongs, Senator Kihika says she will petition the Senate Committee on Roads and Transport to summon the NTSA to work on a way forward.
“I will petition the Senate Committee of Roads and Transport to summon the NTSA management to review, interrogate and Audit its activities with a view to recommending its restructuring, including change of current management and instituting other remedial strategies, for safer roads,” says the Nakuru Senator. She adds that this will reduce deaths and injuries on the roads, stem human capital loss and grief to families and the economic losses due to the road accidents.
Continuing with her #EndSalgaaAccidents campaign, the Senator says the restructuring of NTSA which was founded five years back is a key component. She accuses its officers of corruption saying the accidents have been happening under their watch.
“Accidents keep occurring at the very watch of this institution. NTSA corrupt officers prefer to chase up and down trucks for bribes instead of strictly enforcing the Traffic law and Regulations for the safety and sanity on our roads.
Senator Susan Kihika in the same post disagrees with the closing down of driving schools as a way of stemming the road accidents terming it a kneejerk reaction and an insult to the intelligence of Kenyans.
