Mt Kenya matatu owners have threatened to cease operations if the government does not stop forcing them to install new speed governors in their vehicles.
The National Transport Safety Authority has ordered matatu owners to remove the governors they have and install recommended ones.
Speaking in Embu on Tuesday, representatives of the owners said they are being overburdened all the time by being told to install different types of speed governors.
Led by Abraham Gichovi, Rufus Manyeki and Wanja Karuku, the operators said they were not consulted before the new directive was issued.
They were not told what was wrong with the speed governors they had installed, they said.
“We are wondering what is really happening because our vehicles are being detained for not having the new speed governors while the ones we have been using have been so effective,” Gichovi said.
He said the recommended speed governors are expensive as they cost between Sh35,000 to Sh40,000 while the previous ones went for Sh25,000.
The matatu owners asked the government to engage them in talks over the issue. They said it was becoming difficult to run a matatu business owing to many stringent rules imposed by the government.
