Motor vehicle owners in Kenya will now be required to apply for an electronic chip sticker that allows secure identification and authentication of motor vehicle ownership.
The National Transport and Safety Authority NTSA will launch phase one of the project on July 1st. It will be used to identify the number of registered vehicles in the country, assist in detecting stolen cars, and assist in traffic volume statistics.
In the second phase of the project, all vehicles will be required to start fresh registration starting January 2018, and windshield stickers will be issued.
The sticker will have the vehicle’s registration, tax, and insurance information, chassis number among other identifying information.
The new chip model is expected to reduce tax evasion and improve traffic network control and safety.
NTSA director general Francis Meja said motor vehicle owners will be required to make a one-time payment of Sh. 700 for the sticker, which will be renewed every 10 years with the same amount. A damaged sticker will be replaced for the same amount of Sh. 700.
“We are preparing the ground for a radical change in the way enforcement is carried out in this country. We have been depending on police officers on the ground, but with the new technology enforcement will be modernized,” Meja said.
The third phase will be integrating the insurance industry with motor vehicle registrar, allowing private motorists to renew the sticker when they renew their insurance.
Meja said he is holding talks with the insurers in a bid to convince them to ditch their old stickers in favor of the new multipurpose electronic chip.
The chip has tamper proof and tamper-evident features, read distance of more than six metres and a data retention period of at least 8 years. It can also easily pick details of a car travelling at a speed of 200 km/h.