Transporters threaten to strike over hiked road maintenance levy

Trucks in a past gridlock near Malaba, Busia County. [File, Standard]

Public transport sector players have threatened to go on strike if the new Sh25 road maintenance levy is not scrapped.

Addressing the media along Mfangano Street, Nairobi, Wednesday, associations of long-distance drivers, offline and digital taxi operators, and matatu operators termed the government's decision to increase the levy from Sh18 to Sh25 illegal and discriminatory.

Kenyans were shocked at the new levy, which was contained in the controversial Finance Bill 2024, which has since been withdrawn by President William Ruto.

"We reject the illegal increase of the road maintenance levy from Sh18 to Sh25 by the government without public participation," said Benard Omondi, chairman of Public Service Vehicles - Business Membership Co-operation of Kenya.

"Failure to pass the benefits of declining low global fuel prices to Kenyans, converting it to road maintenance levy reflects impunity and disregard for the rule of law. We give the government seven days to rescind the increase or face industrial action," Omondi added.

Last week during the monthly review of fuel prices for July 15 to August 14, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) effected the increase of road maintenance levy to Sh25 per litre of petrol and diesel despite reducing the fuel cost by Sh1 for petrol and Sh1.50 for diesel products.

"There was no public participation, but on July 14, 2024, we were shocked to see that road maintenance levy had been increased yet the former Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen is on record promising there will be no increase of the levy," said Motorists Association of Kenya chairman Peter Murima.

Murima said the hiked road maintenance levy will hurt motorists and demanded that the Exchequer shoulders the burden through the Consolidated Fund.

"When you multiply the Sh7 additional charge with daily consumption of 20 million litres of diesel and petrol we consume, you find that every day we are paying illegal levy of Sh140 million; and that is money that is being stolen from us," he stated.

Murima argued that the previous Sh18 levy was enough to repair all roads.

"There is something called Performance Based Road Maintenance Contracting(PBRC), which is causing all this mess where foreigners have brought in private companies that are owned by even government functionaries and now there is no longer a system like in China, where government parastatals are responsible for repairing roads," he said.

The transport stakeholders at the same time called for the restructuring of the National Transport Safety Authority (NTSA) and the disbandment of Epra, saying the latter is not serving public interest but political, and it has no independent commissioners.

"We had agreed on a certain formula to be used by Epra including the cost of landing fees of fuel and factoring the transport cost of fuel from Kipevu in Mombasa before the price of fuel is fixed but they (Epra) have ignored this formula," said Murima.

A month ago when he appeared before the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Murkomen said the country is grappling with a road maintenance deficit of Sh78 billion in the current financial year.

Matatu Welfare Association vice chairman, John Katimbwa said the sector is being discriminated.

"The Finance Bill was withdrawn, why should they single out the transport sector and increase taxes without our input? This introduction of the taxes through the backdoor is an insult and provocation to the transport industry that is rendering very essential service to the nation. Whoever did that should withdraw it immediately," said Katimbwa.

Digital Boda Drivers and Deliveries Association chairman Calvince Okumu lamented that on the digital platform, when there is an increase of even Sh1 it affects them since their earnings are determined by their employers.