The Leader of Minority in the National Assembly John Mbadi during a past function. He said NTSA has failed in its mandate to secure roads. [Photo|kenyans.co.ke]
Suba South Member of Parliament John Mbadi has criticised the move by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to ban night travel for long-distance public service vehicles (PSVs).
The authority suspended the night travel following a tragic accident at Migaa along Nakuru-Eldoret highway on Sunday that claimed the lives of 38 passengers.
Speaking to the Nation, Mbadi dismissed the ban as a knee-jerk reaction that will not end the rising accidents on Kenyan roads.
"The ban is not a solution. It is more of an emotional outburst that worsens the situation," he said.
The Leader of Minority in the National Assembly said, to curb increasing road carnage, what is needed is an honest enforcement agency that will implement traffic rules to the letter and spirit of the law.
"The law exists, what is required is the will to enforce it. NTSA must ensure that drivers are not intoxicated and they must not be overworked through a heavy schedule. But this is not possible because what we have in Kenya is an enforcement institution system that has collapsed," the MP told the local daily.
NTSA, however, has defended the move to restrict PSVs to travel between 6am and 7:30pm, terming the move as "well thought-out despite the inconveniences it had caused to travellers and bus companies'.
"The decision was arrived at after careful consideration and discussions for public good and safety," said NTSA Director General Francis Meja in a statement.
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