Boda boda operators in Uasin Gishu County have been ordered to install tracking devices following an edict by Woman Representative Gladys Boss Shollei.
According to the woman rep, the devices will protect the operators from increasing theft of the motorcycles in the region.
MP Shollei further added that the riders will also be protected in the wake of increased attacks while at work.
The MP assured the riders that the Uasin Gishu government will provide the funds needed to install tracking devices on all the motorcycles.
[caption caption="Uasin Gishu Woman Representative Gladys Boss Shollei boards her car following a past public appearance"]
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Speaking from her Ainakboi sub-county office on Tuesday, Mrs Shollei told reporters that the money to fund the project would be sourced from the county women's affirmative action kitty in the 2019/2020 financial year.
She, however, donated an initial Ksh1 Million to the Ainakboi Boda Boda Sacco from her office to go towards the implementation of her order.
The woman rep further urged bodaboda operators to join Saccos to ensure that they benefit from such initiatives by the national and county governments.
A recent survey released by the Motorcycles Assemblers Association of Kenya (MAAK) indicated that the boda boda industry is one of the major drivers of Kenya's economy.
According to MAAK Chair Isaac Kalua, there are approximately 600,000 registered motorcycles on Kenyan roads, on average making Ksh1,000 a day and the figures translated to Ksh219 Billion annually.
Kalua added that there are about 4.8 million people whose livelihoods are pegged on the industry, "Until there is a solution to mass transport, there shall continue to be a need," he stated.
[caption caption="Boda boda operators wait for clients at a bus stop"]
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