The Kenyan government is preparing to hand over the troubled smart driving licence project to a private investor through a public-private partnership, seven years after the Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir first flagged serious delays and cost overruns in the Sh5 billion initiative run by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA).
Internal documents seen by Business Daily show that only 2.1 million chip-based smart driving licences have been printed and issued since the project began in 2017, far below the original target of five million cards by 2020. Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu revealed in her latest report that Sh1.83 billion has already been spent, while 572,000 fully paid-for cards worth Sh176 million remain unprinted at the government printer.
Many motorists now prefer the cheaper digital driving licence available on the e-Citizen platform for Sh3,050, which can be renewed online in minutes without visiting Huduma Centres or NTSA offices. The convenience has sharply reduced demand for the physical smart card that costs Sh3,500 when collected in person.
The Transport Principal Secretary told Parliament that the ministry is finalising a transaction advisory tender to identify a reputable private partner who will finance, print, personalise, and distribute the remaining smart driving licences while upgrading the entire backend system to international standards.
Under the proposed model, the winning consortium will recover its investment through a small per-card fee paid by NTSA over the next five to seven years. The private operator will also integrate facial recognition and biometric verification to make forgery almost impossible and enable real-time validation by traffic police using handheld devices.
Road safety campaigners have welcomed the move, saying the current hybrid system where both digital and smart cards exist side by side has created loopholes exploited by driving schools and corrupt officials issuing licences to unqualified drivers.
However, the Kenya Human Rights Commission and digital privacy advocates have raised concerns that handing over millions of citizens’ biometric data to a private company could expose motorists to identity theft and surveillance if proper safeguards are not enforced.
Motorists interviewed in Nairobi and Mombasa expressed mixed feelings. Many said they would accept a modest increase in renewal fees if it means finally receiving the smart driving licence they paid for years ago and ending endless queues at Times Tower.
Industry sources indicate that at least three international security printing firms with experience in Ghana, Rwanda, and Nigeria have already expressed interest in the tender expected to be advertised before March 2026.
The shift to private sector delivery mirrors similar arrangements in Uganda and Tanzania, where smart driving licence rollout was completed within 24 months of awarding contracts to specialist companies.
NTSA Director-General Eng. Angela Wanjira assured the public that no existing digital licences will be invalidated and that the new partner will be required to clear the entire backlog of unprinted cards within the first 12 months of operation.
If the public-private partnership proceeds as planned, Kenya could finally achieve universal smart driving licence coverage by 2028 while freeing up government resources for other critical transport infrastructure projects.
