There has been public outcry and calls for government to review the mandatory towing levy policy following an announcement by the implementing agency, the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), that the legislative instrument (LI) which was passed in 2012 would be implemented from July 1, 2017.

Regulation 102 (3) of the LI 2180 (Road Traffic Regulations 2012) imposes a mandatory levy on all owners and persons in charge of motor vehicles, for the purpose of towing broken down or disabled vehicles on the roads.

The statement explained that upon consultations consequent to the calls for a review of the policy, government has decided to seek a review of parts of the law specifically to achieve the following objectives:

• Removal from the law, the concept of mandatory towing levy on all owners and persons in charge of motor vehicles and trailers.
• The role of government in the provision of towing services will be limited to only licensing and licensing and regulating service providers.”

The statement stressed however that government remained committed to the policy that broken down vehicles ought to be removed from the roads to avert accidents.

“New modalities for dealing with the problem of broken down or disabled vehicles will be formulated and announced in due course,” the statement added.