President William Ruto’s administration is set to introduce new hiked charges for several services starting in 2024.
The new hiked charges are expected to help various government agencies run independently and raise revenue.
New ID Charges
Starting in January 2024, Kenyans will be forced to pay more to acquire national identity cards.
According to the Ministry of Interior led by Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, new ID applicants will pay Ksh300.
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The fee for the replacement of lost IDs will be Ksh1,000. Initially, the government had capped the fee at Ksh2,000 but after uproar, the charge was reviewed downwards.
The fee for application of the standard 34-page passport was set at Ksh7,500 from the current Ksh4,500.
A 50-page ordinary passport will also cost applicants Ksh9,500 from the existing Ksh6,000 while the application fee for a 66-page ordinary passport will rise by Ksh5,000 to cost Ksh12,500.
New Train Charges
Starting January 2024, travellers will also be forced to pay more to travel using the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).
A notice issued by Kenya Railways indicated that the cost of travelling by SGR on First Class from Nairobi to Mombasa will rise by Ksh1,500 from Ksh3,000 to Ksh4,500.
Travellers using Economy Class on the Nairobi-Mombasa route will pay Ksh500 more as the cost rises to Ksh1,500.
“This increase is informed by changes in the energy and petroleum sector where prices of fuel have significantly increased thus affecting the cost of our operations,” Kenya Railways statement read in part.
The Railway Corporation attributed the price hike to an increase in fuel prices.
Revised NTSA charges
National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) proposed new charges which are expected to be rolled out in 2024.
The Safety Authority proposed an increase of up to 900 per cent for services to fund its budget deficit amounting to over Ksh2.3 billion.
In the proposed changes, the road service licenses for public service vehicles will increase by 98 per cent as a road license for a PSV with between 6-8 passengers moves from Ksh2,700 to Ksh.5,400 with that of PSV with 26 passengers hitting Ksh8,900.
If actualised, the inspection charges will also go up to Ksh2,000 from Ksh1,000 for heavy commercial vehicles exceeding 5 tons.
Registration of vehicles below 1000cc will increase from Ksh1700 to Ksh3400 while those 3001 and above cc will pay Ksh16,600 up from Ksh8,300.
However, NTSA noted that the new charges would be subjected to public participation before being adopted.
Kenyans will also face more salary deductions following plans to revamp the housing fund. The Kenya Kwanza administration wants the fund to be enshrined in law and to expand the contribution pool to include those working in the informal sectors.
In 2024, the Social Health Insurance Fund will be fully implemented. The new fund seeks to deduct up to 2.75 per cent of gross pay from each employee.
