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Motorists risk Sh30,000 daily parking fine in new KeNHA proposal

Kenyan motorists to pay Sh30,000 fine for parking outside soon-to-be-established roadside stations along all major highways.

By Ibrahim Omar | Tuesday, February 6, 2024

The licensing and establishment of roadside stations is one of the strategies by KeNHA to diversify its revenue streams.

Motorists risk a fine of Sh30,000 per day for parking outside soon-to-be-established roadside stations along all major highways if the proposed regulations are passed.

The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has published the draft Kenya Roads (Roadside Stations) Regulations, 2023 which seek to establish roadside stations on major highways.

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According to the draft regulations that have been opened for public participation, any motorist that will park outside the stations will be hit with a penalty of Sh30,000 per day.

For trucks that are found parked outside the stations, they will also be charged Sh2,500 to be towed to the nearest station for the first 1km and thereafter Sh2,000 for every subsequent kilometer.

The roadside stations will be equipped with amenities such as sanitation facilities, restrooms, driver’s accommodation, a petrol station, electric car charging points, a car service centre, towing and recovery services, ATM and banking facilities and convenience stores.

Other amenities include a health clinic, market stalls, green areas, access roads, parking spaces, internet connection, office space, among others.

The road stations can be developed by government agencies, public-private partnerships (PPPs), an individual or private company and have to be built no further than 600 meters from the road.

“The object of these Regulations is to provide for the development, operationalization and management of roadside stations,” the draft regulations states.

Those seeking to set up a roadside station will pay a one-time application fee of Sh20,000 to KeNHA and annual license fees of Sh100,000 in cities and municipalities and Sh50,000 in other areas.

Developers that will be found operating a roadside station in cities and municipalities without a license will be slapped with a fine of Sh500,000 while in other areas the fine will be Sh250,000.

Truckers will park in the roadside stations for free if they park for less than 2 hours while the charge will be Sh200 and Sh150 for parking for between 2 hours and 8 hours in cities and municipalities and other areas respectively.

To park for 24 hours at a roadside station in cities and municipalities, truckers will pay Sh500 and Sh400 in other areas.

The licensing and establishment of roadside stations is one of the strategies by KeNHA to diversify its revenue streams. The State-owned firm currently relies on funding from the government as well as collections from the Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF).

This comes as the government plans to spend Sh394 billion in the next five years on the construction, repair and enhancement of major highways amid a tight fiscal space that has seen the Treasury slash the overall budget for roads in recent allocations.