The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has revealed that it is planning to introduce e-logbooks in a bid to curb fraud related to vehicle ownership.
According to the NTSA Director-General, Francis Meja, the new move will be part of the transport agency’s bid to improve information sharing through its online register, the Transport Integrated Management System (TIMS).
“We are currently reviewing the option of having e-logbooks that can be easily verified through the system and also seeing how the system can be integrated with insurance firms to know who actually has insured their vehicle,” Meja said.
He further added that the TIMS system now allows car financiers such as commercial banks to view their financed assets electronically.
“TIMS has incorporated a component that now helps banks conduct quick online searches thus eliminating fraudsters from the lending market,” he said. However, Mr. Meja fell short of giving the timelines of the planned launch of the e-logbooks.
“In September last year, insurance fraud investigators busted a cartel of con artists who were using fake car logbooks to swindle insurers out of millions of shillings.
The cartel, suspected to consist of about 10 scammers, had managed to infiltrate the NTSA’s online database, compromising the integrity of vehicle registration details,” the Business Daily reported further.