Transporters call for tougher laws to check overloading

The weighbridge approaches are slanted due to wear and tear and loose containerised cargo is likely to shift from one point to the other giving wrong axle readings, KTA said, adding that those who deliberately overload the trucks deliver their cargo at night.

The CPCS Transcom report said that transporters are able to bribe their way past the weighbridges.

The report says it costs between Sh11,250 - Sh18,750 to haul overloaded cargo of 20 tonnes from Mombasa to Nairobi and between Sh18,750- Sh37,500 to move the cargo from Mombasa to Kampala.

Aging weighbridges

To move the same cargo from Mombasa to Kigali, a transporter spends Sh56,250 -Sh75,000 per trip, the report said.

To move the load from Mombasa to Bujumbura and Mombasa to Kigali, transporters spend Sh75,000 - Sh100,000.

There are seven weighbridges operated along the main Northern Corridor route between Mombasa and Malaba in Kenya, which are supposed to ensure that the weight of the cargo does not exceed the allowable limit of 27 tonnes.

The government plans to replace the aging weighbridges with modern ones.

Bribery is prevalent at the weighbridges, notes the report and the corruption is often planned and arranged ahead of time.