Mechanics work on a vehicle at a garage located in Kangemi along the Nakuru-Naivasha Highway on August 19, 2022. The automotive industry has seen a tremendous growth with consumers purchasing vehicles for both personal and commercial use thus leading to an increase in employment opportunities for businesses that support the industry. Picture by Francis Nderitu
Private garages are set to lose government business as Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said that the shift to service government vehicles in TVETS would enable skills development in the institutions whose students focus on practical, industry-driven training.
Kenya’s TVET sub-sector focuses on practical, industry-driven training to equip students with skills for employment, with emphasis on fields such as ICT, engineering and hospitality.
Government vehicles bought outside the lease programmes still rely on private garages for repair and maintenance services, a position that could now change as the Treasury rolls out austerity measures.
Data by the Education ministry shows that at the beginning of 2026, there were 2,969 accredited TVET institutions in the country, including 1,800 technical and vocational colleges, 34 national polytechnics and more that 1,200 vocational training centres.
The number of TVET institutions expanded from 2,401 to 2,969, driving a 63.8 percent increase in enrolment to 565,842 trainees.
The Treasury said that the present transport system has been abused, sending costs soaring to 14.3 billion shillings as of 2023 from 8.6 billion shillings in 2021.
As part of austerity measures, the Treasury has been pushing for automation and fleet tracking in a fuel cost-cutting push.
A recent proposal by the Treasury demanded that government-owned vehicles solely refuel using automated card systems and stay monitored through digital trackers to help curb operational costs. The proposal could see fuel programmes centralised and automated for all government fleets to curb wastage.
Already, the government is piloting an automated vehicle location system, fuel logging, and tracking with the National Police Service among other agencies, as it sets its eyes on rolling out the system for all its vehicles.
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