The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) will on Monday 13th June 2016 launch an online system meant to modernize motor vehicle registration. In the past the manual process has been tedious and prone to manipulation. So tedious was it that some people opted to not change the names on the car’s log book till such a time that they felt that it was absolutely necessary. The new system is expected to cut the amount of time taken to transfer ownership from a month or more to just about 10 minutes.
The system has so far been piloted by motorcycle dealers and they have reported an ease in doing business. The piloting has enabled the authority get feedback from users and they have made appropriate adjustments to the system in a bid to optimize user experience.
As from Monday, the system will initially be available to car dealers who will also be expected to give feedback on how to improve on the system. It will thereafter be opened to the public in a few months’ time. Consequently, NTSA is requesting vehicle owners to verify that their vehicles are in their names on the e-citizen portal. If it happens that the process of transfer is not complete as per the portal, complete the transfer process by visiting NTSA offices with the original documents.
Services offered through the system will be linked to the e-citizen portal for ease of use by Kenyans countrywide. The system will be internet and mobile technologies enabled thus allowing law enforcement to leverage on ICT to reduce road carnage as well as manage traffic. This will be done with the aid of machine readable number plates and cameras on highways which are integrated into a central database. As a matter of fact both the Police and the Judiciary will be able to instantly ascertain the validity of any driving license and also its history. This will effectively bring to an end cases of rogue drivers who cause multiple accidents and are still allowed to drive on our roads.
Embedding technology in the management of road transport is expected to eliminate fraud and corruption, provide a single source of information on road transport data, improve compliance with traffic rules and enforcement as well as improve access and security to information relevant to the transport sector.
The acting CEO ICT Authority Mr Robert Mugo had this to say, “This initiative is part of our efforts to improve government services to the public to increase efficiency and promote transparency. It entails presenting a seamless interface between different government departments through shared service centres and infrastructure as detailed by the ICT Master plan 2017.”