• While the average age of imported used vehicles in Kenya is 7.2 years in Uganda it is about 15.4 years.
• Some vehicles arriving in Kenya have their catalytic converters missing, taken for the scrap value of their components in their countries or origin.
The United Nations Environment Programme has urged Kenya to tighten its restrictions on imported vehicles.
Kenya is the only country in East Africa with the eight-year age restriction for imported vehicles, but the UN says this is not enough.
In a new report, Unep labels Kenya's restrictions as 'weak', and the rest of East African countries' as 'very weak'.
The report is part of Unep’s campaign to end the trade of obsolete, unsafe, dirty, and faulty used vehicles globally.
“The lack of effective standards and regulation is resulting in the dumping of old, polluting and unsafe vehicles,” said Inger Andersen, executive director of Unep.
While the average age of imported used vehicles in Kenya is 7.2 years in Uganda it is about 15.4 years. Tanzania and Rwanda have no age limit but increase taxes for vehicles older than eight and 10 years, respectively.
Burundi, South Sudan, and Somalia (although not covered in the current report) have no limits at all.
The organisation says there are clear benefits for both the environment and safety where countries restrict the importation of old cars.
The average efficiency of vehicles in Kenya is up to 25 per cent better compared to Uganda and Rwanda, the report says.
For instance, while on average vehicles in Kenya consume 7.4 litres of fuel for 100 kilometres, in Rwanda it’s 9.2 litres and Uganda 9.5 litres.
Tanzania is not included in the study, but fuel efficiency there is as low as Uganda’s.
"Older vehicles are less fuel-efficient and have higher [carbon dioxide] emissions,” Unep says in its report, titled Used Vehicles and the Environment - A Global Overview of Used Light Duty Vehicles.
Unep boss Andersen says exporting countries should also bear responsibility.
“Developed countries must stop exporting vehicles that fail environment and safety inspections and are no longer considered roadworthy in their own countries while importing countries should introduce stronger quality standards,” she says.
The report calls on countries to adopt harmonised standards for importation of vehicles.
Although Kenya recommends limiting the age of car imports into East Africa at eight years, other states have always stymied the proposals.
However, in 2018 Uganda adopted a 15-year age limit for used light-duty vehicles and in 2019 Rwanda adopted Euro 4/IV vehicle emission standards.
Last year, the EAC developed proposals which require all new vehicle registrations meet a minimum of Euro 4/IV standards, which reduces the toxic sulfur that comes out of the combustion engine.
“At the publishing of this report, the draft vehicle emission standards are being reviewed by the East Africa countries after which they will be adopted regionally,” Unep said.
The report notes while the Kenya Bureau of Standards demands a certificate of roadworthiness from the exporters' side, there is no way for importers to confirm that the vehicles indeed comply.
Some vehicles arriving in Kenya have their catalytic converters missing, taken for the scrap value of their components in their countries of origin.
The converter is a device that uses a catalyst to convert three harmful compounds in car exhaust into harmless compounds.