The government is phasing out over 13,000 fuel-injected motorcycles currently used by chiefs and their assistants, replacing them with electric motorcycles, the Interior Ministry announced on Monday.
Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo stated that this initiative positions local administrators at the forefront of climate action at the grassroots level.
“Besides mobilising wananchi at the location and sub-location levels to grow trees, the use of electric motorcycles by the administrators boosts our climate action efforts at the grassroots,” he said.
Omollo launched the distribution of the first batch of 22 motorcycles at his Harambee House office in Nairobi. These 22 bikes will be used in Kajiado, Kiambu, Machakos, and Nairobi counties.
More motorcycles will be distributed as part of the pilot project, which is expected to take a month before a phased rollout targeting all parts of Kenya, according to the PS.
He mentioned that priority would be given to large counties and remote areas facing security challenges to ensure the easy mobility of officers.
The electric motorcycles flagged off by PS Omollo on Monday are made by the electric mobility company Spiro.
A January 2024 press release on the company’s website indicates that a single bike costs over Ksh.190,000. To acquire new units for every chief and their assistants in all of Kenya’s 3,972 locations and 9,055 sub-locations, the government will spend upwards of Ksh.2.4 billion.
Omollo also revealed that the government plans to issue electric vehicles to police officers and other National Government Administration Officers (NGAOs) who currently lack sufficient vehicles.