Effectiveness of technology as a strategy In motor vehicle registration by Kenya Revenue authority

Abstract

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding registration of motor vehicles in Kenya. Amidst the increase of stolen vehicles coming from abroad and finding there way into the country, being bought by innocent Kenyans and registered only to discover later that they were actually stolen vehicles that were brought into the country illegally. This is evidenced by the various articles and news in the media concerning this issue. Indeed the problem of stolen vehicles and other fraudulent activities in the motor vehicle industry have brought concern and made the common 'mwanainchi' wonder what the government is doing about it. Kenya Revenue Authority being the sole organization that handles the registration of all vehicles in the country has thus been faced with this challenge. It has therefore had no alternative than to 'shoulder the burden' of determining the best way to deal with this problem that has been plaguing the county and seems to be getting increasingly worse during this year. One of the ways that Kenya Revenue Authority is attempting to overcome this problem is through the introduction of technology in motor vehicle registration process. The purpose therefore of this case study is to determine the effectiveness of the use of technology in motor vehicle registration by Kenya Revenue Authority. Technology strategy is part of the main strategic objectives of Kenya Revenue Authority which has been articulated as a means to modernize its internal processes. Technology generally plays an important role in today's information age. Therefore this research seeks to find out how technology can interplay with other macro-economic forces and b(!'deliberately used to improve efficiency in light of the limitations that exist especially in a developing country like Kenya. This paper will specifically analyze whether the introduction of technology in Kenya Revenue Authority has helped increase the number of vehicles registered and improved the revenue collected from registration of motor vehicles. It will further investigate whether the quality of service delivery in vehicle registration has improved in terms of minimizing time taken to serve customers, reducing errors and eliminating forgery of documents and other corrupt activities.