Kenyan ladies have been encouraged to join the boda boda sector as a means of employment.
Principal Secretary of State Department of Public Service Mary Kimonye said that ladies are reluctant to join the business because of the bad reputation the sector has had over the years.
She said that the government is working on cleaning the mess in the sector so that the ladies can eventually join the business.
“I encourage ladies warembo to buy motorcycles and join the boda boda business,” Kimonye said.
The PS said that the ongoing national registration exercise of the boda boda riders will streamline the sector to bring order and sanity to the business. She said that this will in turn encourage more women to join the boda boda business.
She also praised the boda boda sector, noting that the business has ensured efficiency in the transportation sector more so in the rural parts of the country.
“Boda Boda operators undertake what we refer to as the last mile because when a passenger alights from a matatu, he will need a motorbike to take him to his home which might be in a place where vehicles cannot reach,” Kimonye said.
“Delivery of parcels, shopping and even wedding motorcade now involved boda boda and we agree the sector is here to stay.”
Kimonye, who was speaking in Machakos, further noted that the boda boda sector is a key sector of the country’s economy and cannot be left unmanned.
She also advised the boda boda riders to observe traffic rules and regulations keenly in order to cut road accidents that have taken many lives.
She lamented the deaths caused by boda boda accidents which she noted have led to many women losing their loved ones.
“In the year 2015, 302 pavilion passengers and 434 boda riders died. In 2018, 247 pavilion passengers and 591 boda riders died. Is this how the business will be operated? In 2021, the sector killed 2,127 passengers and 5,155 riders. This is disheartening,” she said.
“It’s disheartening to us as government because the youth are the economy of this country and this is why we have devoted to bringing order in the industry,” she added.
