Meria
Elder Lister
MPs have paved the way for the introduction of pay-for-use roads in Kenya as motorists now face charges of up to Sh50,000 or six-month jail term for driving through toll stations without paying the required fees.
According to the Finance Bill 2020, which takes effect from July 1, motorists who refuse to stop a vehicle at a toll station or fraudulently or forcibly drives a car through without paying the toll will be slapped with Sh50,000 fine or imprisonment to a term not exceeding six months. Additionally, a similar punishment will be given to those who drive through a toll station not designated for the passage of the vehicle.
The MPs in the commiittee chaired by Joseph Limo deleted the Treasury proposal in the Finance Bill 2020 that would have moved transit tolls from the Roads Maintenance Levy Fund to the Public Roads Tolls Fund. From July 1, the government is seeking to put in place legal mechanisms to guide the toll fees on major national roads and establishment of a toll fund. The government is seeking to put in place legal mechanisms to guide the toll fees on major national roads and establishment of a toll fund from July 1.
Factors that determine the toll fees one is to pay includes the distance and capacity of the car. This means that motorists will pay toll charges on top of the fuel levy even though tax revenues funded the roads.The list of highways, where motorists may soon start paying includes Nairobi-Nakuru, Nairobi-Mombasa, Nairobi-Thika and Southern Bypass in Nairobi.
According to the Finance Bill 2020, which takes effect from July 1, motorists who refuse to stop a vehicle at a toll station or fraudulently or forcibly drives a car through without paying the toll will be slapped with Sh50,000 fine or imprisonment to a term not exceeding six months. Additionally, a similar punishment will be given to those who drive through a toll station not designated for the passage of the vehicle.
The MPs in the commiittee chaired by Joseph Limo deleted the Treasury proposal in the Finance Bill 2020 that would have moved transit tolls from the Roads Maintenance Levy Fund to the Public Roads Tolls Fund. From July 1, the government is seeking to put in place legal mechanisms to guide the toll fees on major national roads and establishment of a toll fund. The government is seeking to put in place legal mechanisms to guide the toll fees on major national roads and establishment of a toll fund from July 1.
Factors that determine the toll fees one is to pay includes the distance and capacity of the car. This means that motorists will pay toll charges on top of the fuel levy even though tax revenues funded the roads.The list of highways, where motorists may soon start paying includes Nairobi-Nakuru, Nairobi-Mombasa, Nairobi-Thika and Southern Bypass in Nairobi.