Kenyan government through the internal cabinet secretary Fred Matiangi has officially unveiled modern vehicle number plates that will aid law enforcement agencies in curbing crime in the country. The new plates will be equipped with additional security features which will allow among other things, tracing of vehicles owners incases where need arises.
The new number plates will effectively comply with the amended Traffic Act of 2016 which requires additional features to be both visible physically as well as additional hidden security measures that will only be accessible to law enforcement agencies. According to the Cabinet Secretary, the new number plates will be fixed to vehicles at the point of entry. Additionally, the information contained therein will be synchronized with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to eliminate cases of tax evasion – a major concern in the car selling business.
Matiangi was speaking at the Recce unit Headquarters in Ruiru, Nairobi where the new number plates are being made. He also mentioned that the work was as a result of a multi-agency unit from the security sector which was part of the reforms initiated earlier on by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Vehicle owners are expected to change from their old numbers plates to the new ones within the coming 18months. Speaking at the event, Transport CS James Macharia said the new plates will cover 12 category of vehicles in line with the legal notice 62 of 2016 as well as allow ease of monitoring vehicles coming into the country that ranks as a major transit hub in the region
How much new digital number plates cost
To replace old plates, users will part with Ksh 3,000.