Now we see the light at the end of the tunnel.
First we were promised digital Identification cards and as law abiding citizens
we waited to no avail. They rolled the so called “new generation” identity
cards that were apparently colored, looked like an ATM card and had an additional
picture of the holder at the back.
New generation Driving licenses
Are you over 18 years and have a valid driving licenses? If yes keep reading. If no find a driving
school near you. Anyway NTSA has announced that in the next two months it will
be rolling out its new smart driving license.
Before I even dive into the tetchy stuff we can all agree
that the red book like driving license is no fun at all? I mean whose idea was
it to begin with? It’s bulky and for the older folks the books much older than
them. The one thing that was taken off our shoulders is the fact that we can renew
online. If you have not been e-citizen website open a new tab and have a look. One
of the best government website.
Enough of mouthing. NTSA has signed a Sh2.1 billion contract
with Nation bank of Kenya for the roll out of the new smart driving license. (Apparently
the bank won the contract in 2015. What the hell has been happening all along?)
The new driving license will poses a lot of features which
include:
·
Profile of holder
·
Photo of the holder(on the card)
·
Possess a chip
·
An account (where funds will be credited &
debited)
·
Historical and current fines
·
Classes of vehicles on is permitted
·
Some basic info on the card
Basically the card will look alike with an ATM card. All of
this information will be in custody of NTSA.
This makes of issuing of fines much easy and reduce corruption. As the
cop who arrest you does not have to flog you to the station he just basically updates
your card with a fine and you personally have to go and clear it either in
court or NTSA office. More or so the card may function similarly to the US version
(personal opinion)
The money allocated sounds big at first but the infrastructure
and logistics involved for this to be a successful is massive. The major thing
that stands out here for me is the traffic breaches fines.
How will these be
rolled out? Some report that the card can be top up with some amount of money which
you may even be able to pay goods and services. In an event of a traffic breach
the funds are deducted directly. How about when the card has no or enough funds?
NTSA is yet to answer all these questions but am positive in
all of this. Let’s await the beginning of July and see what they will have in stock
for us.