There Is No Shortage Of Number Plates- NTSA Dismisses Claims
NTSA went ahead to share a clip showing staffers distributing the uncollected number plates to members of the public to ascertain their clarification.
Marvin Chege 
The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has denied reports of a shortage of motor vehicle number plates in the country, a matter believed to have left dealers of motor vehicles in a fix as they cannot sell a car without plates, or make bank transfers that require plates to be completed.
In a statement on Friday, August 16, the authority instead pinned the blame on the dealers themselves over delays, who are currently collecting their plates from centres identified during the application process.
"The country is not experiencing a shortage of number plates. We have 102,000 uncollected plates across NTSA offices," NTSA fired back.
"Motor vehicle dealers and individual motor vehicle owners are currently picking up their plates from the centres they identified during the application process."
The new-look number plates introduced on August 30, 2022. /FILE
NTSA went ahead to share a clip showing staffers distributing the uncollected number plates to members of the public to ascertain their clarification.
A report by a local daily on August 15 sparked huge concern regarding a shortage of number plates, with car dealers claiming that the crisis had been going on for three weeks.
The shortage was reported to have hit the cash flow of a sector that barely six months ago was unable to transfer logbooks or register new cars after the NTSA migrated its system to the eCitizen platform.
Apart from the hit to cash flows, dealers or buyers were also likely to face higher additional storage charges for the continued stay of the cars at the container freight stations at the Port of Mombasa.
The hitches were also reported to have left new car buyers stranded as they had already paid the Ksh3,000 required to acquire number plates for their cars.
The situation is unfolding against a backdrop of a spike in new motor vehicle registrations, with 54,204 listings recorded between January and March 2024, marking a 15.6 per cent increase from the previous year. This surge has only intensified the pressure on NTSA to manage the demand effectively.
June’s audit report by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu unveiled a troubling scenario within NTSA, revealing a staggering backlog of critical documents, including 20,006 number plates, 17,474 motor vehicle logbooks, and 5,753 smart driving licences lying uncollected in regional offices.
The audit painted a picture of inefficiency, with some documents reportedly gathering dust for over five years, alongside a cache of expired drivers' licences.
The audit also exposed discrepancies between the system records and physical stocks, hinting at severe administrative lapses. While the NTSA’s system restricts collection to authorised personnel, the report noted that regional offices had allowed unauthorised individuals to retrieve items, exacerbating the disarray.
A day before, NTSA asked the public to visit its website at http://ntsa.go.ke to check out for uncollected number plates and driving licenses, adding that the portal did not require any registration and was free to access.
"Use the registration number of the vehicle/motorcycle to search uncollected reflective number plates. The portal provides information on the location/centre where the smart driving license or number plate should be collected from," NTSA stated.
It further noted that the portal had a platform for raising any concerns relating to smart driving licenses and number plate applications, adding "We humbly request our clients to provide correct email addresses when submitting requests for follow-up via the portal."
