The National Transport Safety Authority (NTSA) on Thursday said that it had not suspended the issuance of new motor vehicle registration plates adding that only collection points had been merged due to coronavirus.
In a statement, the authority refuted claims by car importers that hundreds of imported units now remain parked, as owners cannot drive them on the roads without proper registration.
NTSA said that this was not true as the dealers have been collecting number plates from the said points at an agreed-upon time where thousands of motor vehicle have been released from Container Freight Stations.
The authority added that measures have been put in place to facilitate business continuity while adhering to measures aimed at curbing coronavirus.
“After deliberations, it was resolved that some CFS (Container Freight Station) collection points be merged while taking into account the state of the facility in terms of space and other factors to implement the safety guidelines,” NTSA said.
According to NTSA, the move has been as a result of consultation with the interior ministry, KRA, Motorvehicle dealers and Container Freight Stations.
It identified three points that had been tasked to issue the number plates. They include Kencott that will act as the collection point for Kencott and Mitchel Cott.
NTSA said the collection point for Interpel and MCT will be located at CB2 while Autoport will be the collection point for Autoport and Unifreight.
“We assure the public that despite scaling down on operation in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus, all our online services are available and the authority is working closely with all the relevant stakeholders to ensure service delivery is not adversely affected during this pandemic.” the authority added.
On Wednesday, Car Importers Association of Kenya (CIAK) chairman, Peter Otieno, said NTSA should lift the suspension for at least two weeks to register new vehicles.
“Our members are stranded due to non-inspection of the already sold units. Vehicles which have been sold and advance tax and inspection bookings paid for should be registered,” said Otieno.
The NTSA scaled down operations in Mombasa on April 8 after Covid-19 infections soared at the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and Container Freight Station (CFS).
He had claimed that more than 1,000 new vehicles were stuck in Mombasa after the authority suspended registration services due to Covid-19.