Public service vehicle operators in movement restricted areas are not going to get any form of compensation in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking before senate committee on roads led by Kiambu senator Kimani Wamatangi, Roads cabinet secretary James Macharia said that the operators from affected counties on restriction of movement including Mombasa,Kwale,Kilifi and Nairobi will not be compensated in any way because they were cushioned from the effects by reduction of taxes by president Uhuru Kenyatta.
“There is no special compensation for upkeep of PSV stakeholders. Most of them are investors and employers and they fall under the Small and medium enterprises who have benefited from a recent government initiative to cushion from COVID 19.”Macharia said
Some of the cushions executed by the government include, a 100 percent tax relief of employees earning a gross salary of 24 ,000.
Others include the reduction of turn over tax for all employees from three percent to one percent for SMES and reduction of VAT from 16 percent to 14 percent.
The PSV industry has been one of the most affected by new rules and regulations put in place to prevent the rapid spreading of COVID-19.
Long distance operators that ferry passengers to places like Lamu,Nairobi and Vanga have been forced halt operations.
In March, president Uhuru Kenyatta ordered PSVs to carry half the number of passengers required in an effort to maintain social distancing among passengers.
He said that in the affected counties still the renewal of licenses is ongoing to keep their businesses steady.
However, application of new licenses has been halted for a while.
He added that on cargo, Ethiopian airlines has been allowed to offer cargo services scheduled once from Mombasa and twice from Nairobi.
