By GEOFFREY MOSOKU
KENYA: The government has admitted that corruption has been the biggest cause for the high death toll on roads.
Cabinet Secretary Michael Kamau said that Kenya records about 3,000 accidents annually, and is ranked among the highest in the world when it is calculated per capita.
Appearing before a parliamentary committee, Kamau said the ministry was putting in place measures to address the problem.
The ministry also identified vandalism and lack of respect for road laws as part of the factors that contribute to the high road carnage.
Clear road map
During the meeting, Members of Parliament told the ministry of Transport and Infrastructure to come up with a clear road map on how to tackle corruption in the transport sector.
Kamanda, said that even as the ministry proposes a raft of measures to address the challenges, they must involve Parliament, especially in areas that need legislation.
The ministry top officials led by Cabinet Secretary Kamau and PS Nduva Muli appeared before the committee.
They were also joined by the Chairman of the newly formed National Transport and Safety Authority Lee Kinyanjui and Traffic Commandant Samuel Kimaru.
Inspections units
“Corruption on our roads is the main reason we have high number of accidents,” Kinyanjui said while pointing out at that motor vehicle inspections units of the police are infested with corruption.
“Procuring a certificate of inspection is supposed to be a rigorous process but with money one gets it so easily,” he said.
Kimaru said that by Sunday evening, the number of those who have succumbed from road accidents stood at 2,425 with majority of these at 1,127 being pedestrians, 200 were drivers while another 240 victims are motor cyclists.
The traffic boss lamented the capacity of his department to enforce rules given the shortage of staff and inadequate funding.
