The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has extended its operational hours with the aim of expediting new license plate issuance.

In a statement released on Friday, NTSA announced that all its service centers and offices would now be open from 7.30 am to 6:00pm on weekdays, a departure from the previous 8:00 am to 5:00 pm schedule.

NTSA offices will also be accessible on Saturdays over the next two weeks to facilitate the distribution of the new license plates.

“Additionally, NTSA offices will be accessible to the public on Saturday, September 30, 2023, and Saturday, October 7, 2023, from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm for the purpose of license plate collection,” the statement read in part.

The authority has urged vehicle owners who have received SMS notifications regarding the collection of reflective license plates to visit the designated centers mentioned during the application process.

NTSA’s decision to extend its operating hours follows a directive from Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, issued a week ago, instructing the authority to eliminate the backlog in producing driving licenses, logbooks, and digital license plates within a two-week timeframe.

In a statement on Friday, September 22, Murkomen personally pledged to oversee the reforms, emphasizing the need for NTSA to streamline its service delivery to the Kenyan public. He stated, “To swiftly resolve this issue, I will personally supervise the processing, printing, and delivery of driving licenses, logbooks, and digital license plates, starting today, to ensure that Kenyans receive improved services and value for their money.”

The Cabinet Secretary, following his visit to the NTSA Inspection and Printing Centre on Likoni Road and the Headquarters in Upper Hill, expressed his frustration over poor service delivery caused by a malfunctioning printing machine, which had resulted in approximately half a million pending and incomplete applications.

The government had introduced the next-generation vehicle registration plates in May of the previous year as part of a broader strategy to combat forgery, swapping, and duplication. Former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i had announced in August 2022 that the government would phase out the old plates within an 18-month period, with the deadline set for April 2024.