The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has announced a major improvement in driving licence services, saying motorists can now have their licences processed and collected in under two minutes.In a brief statement on Thursday, October 8, the authority said the new service is part of efforts to improve service delivery and reduce the time motorists spend at its offices.However, motorists seeking to benefit from the two-minute driving licence service will have to visit their nearest NTSA office to collect their driving licences.According to NTSA, the latest move marks a shift from the previous system where Kenyans would queue for several hours at NTSA offices and wait to collect their documents.“Happy Customer Week, at NTSA we have transformed service delivery. Visit and collect your driving licence in under two minutes. No more queues at NTSA,” the authority said.The announcement comes as NTSA seeks to ease concerns over long waiting times and delays in the processing and issuance of driving licences to motorists.Nonetheless, the latest changes follow growing frustration among Kenyans over delays in the processing and issuance of smart driving licences and number plates.Some applicants have previously claimed they completed biometric registration and made payments two to three months ago but are yet to receive their driving licence cards.The delays have previously been linked to a large backlog of applications, with sources within the system estimating that hundreds of thousands of applications remain pending.The high number of applications has reportedly put pressure on the authority’s production capacity, making it difficult to process licences and number plates as quickly as they are requested.To ease the processing and issuance of the documents, the agency has been considering changes to the production of driving licences and number plates by involving private-sector investors.Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV in June this year, NTSA Director General Nashon Kondiwa said the move would help address persistent delays in the production and issuance of the documents.Kondiwa argued that the government should not directly handle the production and sale of driving licences and number plates, noting that several countries rely on licensed private companies to provide the services.“I do not think a government, or any government institution, should be trading in number plates, which is what has been happening in Kenya since independence,” Kondiwa said.
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