Kenya Must Come Clean On Axle Load

12 June 2011

Nairobi — Failure by the East African Community member countries to harmonise axle load limits could slow down the integration process as well as implementation of the Common Market Protocol.

At last week’s stakeholders meeting in Nairobi, Kenya declined to adjust its axle load — the lowest in the region — upwards from 48 to 56 tonnes as had been suggested by Uganda and Tanzania. Kenya insists it can only agree to a maximum of 52 tonnes. Burundi and Rwanda both have an axle load limit of 53 tonnes while Uganda and Tanzania are at 56 tonnes.

Kenya argues that it handles most of the traffic from landlocked Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, plus that destined for eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, and that increasing the axle load limit would cost its taxpayers huge amounts of money as roads would have to be rehabilitated frequently.

While Kenya’s reasons for not making the adjustment may be genuine, time is fast running out as the harmonised axle load takes effect in August. The harmonisation could bring down the cost of transportation within the region by as much as 50 per cent. It is a pity that in East Africa, transport costs are three to five times more than in Asia.

On the other hand, it’s ironic that the government says it is keen on protecting its roads when studies by its Ministry of Transport show about 50 per cent of the trucks plying Kenya roads are still overloaded, some with cargo of up to 60 tonnes. The government must first tackle corruption at weigh bridges before it can convince anyone that it is serious about protecting its roads.

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