For the umpteenth time, imported cars are piling up at the Port of Mombasa due to lack of logbooks and number plates. This is unacceptable given that importers have to pay between Sh2,000 and Sh6,000 daily as storage costs for delays they are not responsible for.
A new Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) directive requiring that no imported vehicle should be released before it is fully registered and issued with a logbook is behind the hitch. True, the taxman is right on the importance of the rule in the ongoing fight against tax evasion and curbing the dumping of cars meant for re-export into the local market.
However, the timing of the directive is off the mark considering that the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) is facing numerous governance challenges that have been delaying the issuance of logbooks.
KRA should have first ensured that NTSA was in a position to issue a steady supply of logbooks before implementing the directive that has raised the costs for car importers.
In the interim, the taxman should consider reverting to the previous regime where imported cars exited the port after issuance of electronic stickers and number plates.
This will ease the pileup and cut the losses for car importers and other individuals or organisations affected by the directive. When vehicles cannot be released from the port on time, enterprises that require cars for their operations face logistical hitches due to the unnecessary inconvenience caused, including a dip in cash flow for dealers, some of who may be servicing loans.
Importers are also grappling with a shortage of number plates because Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, which produces them, has failed to meet the high demand due to lack of raw materials.
It is unacceptable that in this modern age of automation, Kenya still relies on manual number plates making. With automation, the 6,000 licence plates that are causing the delays at the Mombasa port can be made in a day. Clearly, the country cannot hope to continue relying on prisoners to do what machines can do with much ease and at an affordable cost.
The State should pursue an out-of-court settlement to cede the role of making number plates to the private sector from the prisoners. But even as it pursues this option, problem of logbook and number plate shortages must not be allowed to persist for long.
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