- As an incentive, the National Health Insurance Fund will provide 12-month health cover for 200,000 riders.
- The move seeks to promote road safety and security for the operators and users of their services.
Image: FRED MATIANG'I
Countrywide registration of 2.5 million boda boda riders will start on Monday.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i said Principal Secretaries will preside over the exercise at Huduma Centres. They will issue smart driving licences to qualified riders to promote road safety and stamp out rampant indiscipline.
“The exercise will be conducted within 60 working days [from March 28 to June 24, 2022). A registered boda boda rider will be issued with a smart driving licence within the period,” he said.
As an incentive, the National Health Insurance Fund will provide 12-month health cover for 200,000 riders.
To register, a rider must have the original ID card, a copy of KRA Pin and an active registered phone number.
“A notification will be sent to the registered mobile number upon processing of the registration information.”
National Transport and Safety Authority communications boss Antony Nyongesa urged riders to cooperate and take advantage of the fee waiver.
The President ordered a waiver of the Sh5,800 registration fee.
Representatives of boda boda associations will be invited to attend security meetings.
They will need to attend meetings convened by chiefs, subcounty commissioners, county commissioners and at times regional commissioners to discuss the challenges they face in the field.
Matiang’i and his ICT counterpart Joe Mucheru met leaders in the sector on Wednesday.
The meeting in Kabete was organised by Boda Boda Association of Kenya with support from the Ministry of ICT and the United Nations Population Fund.
They discussed reforms in the sector and prevention of gender-based violence in the public transport industry.
The event brought together more than 300 boda boda officials from all subcounties.
Matiang'i said the sector is crucial and promised to push on with the planned reforms.
“The government values what you do and we are determined to ensure there is order in the sector. No one wants to kill this sector with more than 2.5 million people,” he said.
Matiang'i said riders involved in crime must be weeded out.
The CS advised riders not to be used by politicians to cause chaos.
“The President ordered the waiver of the Sh5,800 registration fee to ensure there is maximum absorption. It is better we forgo the money and have an orderly sector in the end,” he said.
Unemployment, idleness, poverty, drug and substance abuse, non-regulation of the sector, greed, desire for quick money and weak law enforcement by agencies have been blamed for increased crime involving boda boda operators.
Others include peer pressure, illiteracy, criminal minds, insecurity, poor infrastructure, high cost of living, corruption and ease of access to firearms through porous Kenyan borders.
Drought and hunger, uncoordinated boda boda Saccos, political incitement, non-sharing of information with security agencies and tribalism have also been cited.
Research conducted in 2018 established that some riders are involved in serious crimes such as robbery with violence and have caused accidents that have left many impaired or dead.
For instance, in 2018, riders caused 3,877 deaths through dangerous riding.
“Boda bodas are increasingly becoming a very popular and entrenched means of transport in Kenya. However, with the rising popularity, there are worrying concerns that the subsector is increasingly associated with crimes, traffic accidents and impunity with grave implications with public safety,” the report read.