The state, through Kenya Roads Board (KRB), is planning to charge all motorists up to Ksh 3,000 fees through their insurance covers.
A report by Business Daily on Wednesday, September 30, indicated that the fee would be directed towards the repair of damaged roads; including signage, guardrails and streetlights.
KRB Managing Director Rashid Mohamed noted that the board sought to amend the insurance act to have the compensation for road assets paid by third parties removed and a fee introduced.
Mohamed noted that the fee would range between Ksh 500 and Ksh3,000 and would be charged depending on a car's engine capacity.
He also clarified that the introduction of the charge did not necessarily mean that the insurance fee would be raised.
“It does not necessarily mean motorist will pay more because the amount is already covered in the current third party insurance fees.
"It will only be set aside to make it easier to access for use in replacing damaged road assets. It is currently costly and time consuming to seek compensation for a damaged road signage for example,” he stated.
The pay which is expected to be annual, will see the board raise Ksh10 billion every year in the sector.
Industry players were, however, not impressed by the move with The Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI) executive director Tom Gichuhi casting doubts on the rationale used to determine which cars would be charged.
“Third party covers a lot other things including the other vehicles on the road, houses, bicycles and the other road assets like street lighting. How will they tell the portion to take out from the premium?” He posed.
In June, the National Assembly paved way for motorists to be slapped with Ksh 50,000 for driving through toll stations without paying. The fee was raised from initial Ksh 5,000.
The Finance Bill, which took effect on July 1, also provided that failure to pay the penalty would see the motorists spend six months in jail.
“The amendment seeks to enhance the penalty for failure or fraudulently passing through a toll station without paying or failure to use the designated route for passage through a toll station,” indicated part of the bill.
