Automobile dealers in Kenya and their clients have been hit by the effects of logbook delays at KRA. Previously, it took just two weeks to get logbooks but today, it may take upto a month to get the same. This has resulted to slow sales in the automobile industry as clients are reluctant to purchase vehicles without logbooks.

The Business Daily reports that slow processing of logbooks is what has been attributed to the drop in sales of motorcycles by 30% to  38,000 units in the first five months of this year. The number of motor vehicles sold in the first five months of the year, however, still increased by 8% from 23,865 to 25,856.

PSVs Losing it

Public Service vehicle (PSV) operators are also feeling the effects of the situation because they can never acquire licences from the Transport Licencing Board (TLB). Those seeking to acquire loans from banks are also having trouble getting them because the banks need the logbooks to give them out. Insurance companies are as well declining to insure vehicles which don't have logbooks because they claim that such vehicles don't have sufficient proof of ownership.

Whiplash From Social Networks

A number of Kenyans in various social media platforms had different reactions towards these delays, "Having one does not even prove that you own anything! That is why when we buy and sell cars and lands, we first conduct a search of records at the respective registries. The registrar should simply do away with security Printed logbooks because they offer no security whatsoever. If I were him, I'd simply print the car details on ordinary paper with a clear disclaimer that the details MUST be confirmed at the registry before transfer of the vehicle,"says a blogger in Wazua. KRA is however to blame overly for the delays since it announced tenders for logbooks supply in May this year. The tenders are still in the review process and are yet to be awarded.

"Printing of new logbooks is all about KRA meeting it's annual tax collection targets. There is too much forgery and fraud involving KRA documents. They must continue changing and introducing new features to keep ahead of criminals," Dennis Itumbi quips on Wazua.

What is a Logbook anyway? It's a document listing the registration, manufacture, ownership and previous owners, etc, of a motor vehicle.