National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has offered to help a disgruntled car owner track details of his two vehicles which allegedly disappeared from their online portal, the Transport Integrated Management System (TIMS) account.
Through an official statement dated Saturday, September 3, the authority assured the owner that they would help him recover his two missing cars.
"Kindly share the full registration number of the vehicle. We will make a follow-up and give feedback," NTSA assured the owner.
The owner of the two missing cars, on Friday, September 2, claimed that he lost his two cars. He further alleged that the details of his two cars mysteriously went missing from NTSA's online platform.
The motorist accused the safety authority of targeting old vehicles where they alter their details and transfer ownership. The new owners then allegedly use the logbooks issued by the NTSA to acquire loans.
"NTSA is targeting older cars, assuming the owners never check their accounts and it is easier to attain smaller loans instead of taking big expensive cars. So, I'm again on the hunt for my vehicles," he narrated.
He further claimed that he had lost his car four years ago through the same scheme. A new owner then allegedly used the car's logbook to acquire credit.
But after following up with detectives, he tracked his car and recovered it. He was then issued with a new logbook and the new details captured on the NTSA portal.
"A month later, the car was back in my times' account, and a new logbook was issued. But yesterday ( Friday, September 2, 2022) I checked my account and the same car was missing again plus another one," he claimed.
He called for the safety authority to investigate the incident of transferring cars details through the Tims account.
His allegations come just days after Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i launched new smart digital number plates. During the launch, Matiang'i insisted that the plates will help address cases of fraud in the country.
The new plates are fitted with security features, including a specially-imprinted national flag, hologram, watermark, unique and different serial numbers for rear and front plates that are linked to the vehicle’s chassis number and customized font.
Other than storing the year of the car's manufacturer, the plates also capture vehicle type and colour, engine number, transmission type, date and place of manufacture, and insurance details.
