Road Safety Programme Launched by NTSA in Makueni
Posted on : Thursday, 26th November 2020
NTSA Director General (DG) George Njao said the 'Usalama Barabarani' programme is sponsored by the European Union and is planned to run for a period of three years.
Njao said the aim of the programme is to improve road safety in order to minimise the number of deaths caused by accidents.
"There is a need to strengthen road safety programmes and County Transport and Safety Committees (CTSCs) to reduce carnage," he said.
The Director General noted that the programme also aims to raise awareness among Kenyans about road safety and to bring about behavioural improvements that will lead to high levels of compliance.
"We need to shift people's thinking by building awareness. The arrest of citizens is not sustainable and our goal is to increase compliance," he added.
Speaking at the launch of the programme in Wote on Monday, Njao announced that NTSA would spend EUR 420 million on the programme to be introduced along the northern corridor of high road fatalities counties.
These include Makueni, Nairobi, Nakuru, Kericho, Kisumu and Kakamega.
The DG also introduced a five-day smart driving licence at the Makueni Huduma Center and urged residents to take advantage of the exercise and register in large numbers.
He pledged that NTSA would soon deploy mobile vehicle inspection units in the county as a way to decentralise the NTSA services currently provided in the county of Machakos.
At the launch, County Commissioner Maalim Mohammed welcomed the initiative and said that the national administration would work with NTSA to increase public education and awareness on road safety to minimise accidents.
"Information is key and there is a need to sensitise Kenyans to road etiquette," Maalim said.
He welcomed NTSA's decision to decentralise services to Makueni, saying residents had to drive to Machakos to obtain services.
"It was costly for residents to travel to Machakos, apart from the long queues. There is a need to bring services closer to the people," said the county commissioner.
Maalim called on residents to come out in large numbers and register for smart driving licences available at the Hudum centre.
Speaking when the NTSA Director General paid him a courtesy visit to his office, Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana said his government appreciates the NTSA's gesture of introducing a security programme to minimise carnage in the county.
Kivutha related the high number of accidents to the long stretch of the Nairobi-Mombasa highway in the county and called for cooperation between all stakeholders to minimise road accidents.
"Makueni has more than 200 kilometres of highway where most accidents lead to loss of life and property," said the governor. He asked people to take the initiative to make roads safe for you.
