• The weighbridges should be at the ports of entry
• Trucks, especially those in transit, cause unnecessary traffic gridlocks and inconvenience other road users
Image: FILE
Senators want the government to do away with weighbridges at Mlolongo, Gilgil and Webuye to reduce traffic snarl-ups.
The weighbridges should be at the ports of entry, legislators said.
They said trucks, especially those in transit, cause unnecessary traffic gridlocks and inconvenience other road users.
The trucks should be weighed in Mombasa, and if need be, at points of exit at Malaba, Namanga and Busia.
“What is the rationale of having these many weighbridges? Most of the trucks going to western neighbours come from Mombasa and are weighed at Mariakani. The containers they carry have seals, so, there is no proximity or possibility of any container being opened and additional cargo put on,” Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang'ula said.
At Malaba, the trucks are often in 28km-long queues from the border point all the way to Bungoma Town.
“Only on-coming vehicles can pass and vehicles going the same direction (as the trucks) have to queue,” he said.
Narok Senator Ledama ole Kina challenged the traffic department and the National Transport and Safety Authority to come up with a unified system of weighing the trucks and do away with the many weighbridges.
He said NTSA should develop a system that identifies each truck and the final destination to avoid disruption of traffic flow along major roads.
“Why set up a weighbridge in Naivasha, yet they still have to be weighed when they get to Busia? We have to come up with a better way of ensuring that there is a constant flow of traffic,” Olekina said.
“If a truck goes through Naivasha and the final destination is Busia, then there is no reason we should weigh that truck there because it is in transit. However, if the final destination is Nakuru, then at least we can create a path or maybe a way that the truck going to Nakuru can be weighed,” he added.
The lawmakers were reacting to a statement by nominated Senator Victor Prengei demanding answers from the Ministry of Transport on the traffic congestion near the Gilgil weighbridge.
Early this month, motorists were forced to spend the night on the Nairobi-Nakuru highway following a traffic snarl-up at Gilgil.
“[The Ministry should] explain the circumstances that have led to increased traffic congestion at the Gilgil Weighbridge along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway, including the latest one that lasted over 24 hours,” he said.