The government has suspended the mandatory requirement for all commercial and public service vehicle drivers to undergo a driving re-test before renewal of their licenses.
The requirement for a retest announced by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) had prompted drivers in the country to declare a national wide strike on Wednesday, July 12.
However, in a statement issued on Tuesday, Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen announced the suspension of the regulations, noting that a multi-agency team would be established to look into the concerns raised by the drivers.
Murkomen said following a meeting with transport stakeholders on Tuesday, an agreement had been reached to form a multi-agency committee that will have 14 days to address the issues raised before submitting a report.
In the meantime, the retesting of drivers remains suspended until September 1, 2023.
“’… the Ministry and the stakeholders have agreed on the formation of a multi-agency committee that will among others review the grievances raised by the drivers and conductors. We have agreed as well that they shall submit the names of the officials representing ALL the industry players by 1st August 2023,” reads the statement from the Ministry.
“The exercise will take 14 days and the report with recommendations submitted for further decision-making. Taking note of the above, I hereby halt the retesting of drivers until 1st September 2023 to ive the multi-agency committee time to address the rising concerns.”
On their part, the drivers claim that the new NTSA rules requiring them to undergo a new test for driving is discriminatory.
The fitness of drivers has recently become an issue of concern after it emerged that a majority of them have been failing the re-test.
Data from the Ministry of Transport shows that out of 1,847 drivers across the country who underwent a retest between June 9 and June 30 this year, only 576 passed the exercise with 1,170 recording a fail.
In Nairobi, where most of the retests were conducted, out of the 978 drivers who underwent a retest, 297 passed while 581 failed.
NTSA announced on June 20th that the periodic retest will be mandatory, conducted every three years before a driver renews their license.
“The re-test is for commercial and public service vehicle drivers and is a pre-requisite for renewal of driving licenses with class endorsement(s); 83, D1, D2, D3, C, Cl. CE and CD. 2. The re-test shall be conducted every three years upon the expiry of driving licenses with class endorsement (s): B3, DI, D2, D3, C, Cl. CE and CD,” said the authority in a statement.
These classes comprise drivers of commercial and school buses, matatus, and taxis.
The re-tests are set to be conducted in all NTSA Driver Test Units and drivers will be required to apply online via their e-citizen account at a fee of Ksh.1,050.
By Benjamin Muriuki
Source-https://citizen.digital/
Threat To Strike: Government Suspends Re-Testing For Drivers
