Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has uncovered a serious concern involving the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), stating that the agency does not have full control over its critical Transport Integrated Management System (TIMS).
TIMS is the digital system used for essential services like registering vehicles, transferring ownership, and processing licenses. However, the Auditor General’s 2024 report has raised red flags, warning that the system is vulnerable to potential data leaks and loss of government revenue due to poor oversight.
Gathungu explained that the system was officially shifted to the e-Citizen platform in March 2023, yet there is no formal contract between NTSA and the developers of the new platform.
This lack of a binding agreement means NTSA cannot effectively manage or control the system that it heavily depends on for its core services.
“The TIMS system was moved to the e-Citizen platform in March 2023, but there is no official contract in place. As a result, the NTSA has no authority over it,” Gathungu noted in her report.
While speaking at a conference on April 24, 2023, Auditor General Gathungu emphasized that without legal ownership or administrative rights, NTSA cannot guarantee the system’s reliability or security.
The audit further revealed that TIMS is unable to produce complete and detailed reports. Specifically, the system cannot generate full transaction records or provide a comprehensive list of all licenses issued, vehicle registrations processed, or the total revenue expected.
This severely limits NTSA’s ability to monitor operations and identify discrepancies.
“The user departments at NTSA do not have the necessary access rights to generate or export detailed transaction reports,” the audit highlighted.
Gathungu also observed that staff working in NTSA’s licensing and vehicle registration departments are only allowed to access very limited data within the system. This means they can only view brief summaries of transactions, making it difficult to track income accurately or carry out proper financial oversight.
“Currently, NTSA employees only have access to generate short, summarised application reports, which are not sufficient for proper reporting or decision-making,” the report explained.
Another worrying detail from the audit is that NTSA could not account for how much money was spent on implementing or operating the TIMS system. The authority also failed to demonstrate any progress or upgrades to improve control over the system as of June 2024.
In conclusion, Gathungu’s report paints a picture of a vital public system that’s operating without sufficient legal, financial, or administrative control—leaving NTSA exposed to risks that could affect service delivery, data integrity, and government revenue collection.
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