Occidental Insurance and AA Kenya advance fleet management skills for Machakos County transport officials

Occidental Insurance Company, in partnership with AA Kenya, have completed a training of senior Machakos County Government’s transport supervisors and managers on fleet management. 

The training program builds on the success of last year’s training with the county’s drivers and was aimed at equipping senior county transport officials with advanced skills and knowledge to ensure safe and efficient operations. 

Speaking at the certification ceremony after the training, Michael Gichiri, Occidental Insurance Company Head of Business Development & Marketing, commended the officials for taking a proactive step in improving transport safety in the county. 

“Our goal is to improve the operational efficiency and safety of the Machakos County transport fleet, with a view to contributing towards overall road safety and success of the county. Inefficiency and unsafe operations contribute to significant lost revenue for vehicles that are grounded for repairs after avoidable accidents, and translates to higher insurance premiums for the county as a whole. The bill grows higher considering the costs attributable to treating road accident injuries. Ensuring the county government takes the lead in safe transport operations is not only a moral imperative, but also a prudent approach to reducing expenditure,” said Mr. Gichiri. 

According to the Ministry of Transport’s National Road Safety Action Plan (2024-2028), road carnage costs the nation approximately Ksh. 450 billion annually. The action plan proposes enhanced driver education, and vehicle safety standards among other measures to improve overall road safety. 

Hon. Rita Ndunda, the CEC for Roads, Transport and Public works, Machakos County, said: “The training of our transport supervisors and managers is crucial to improving our capacity as a county government. We are duty bound to maintain high standards of safety and efficiency in our transport sector. This training, therefore, is an investment in the future of Machakos County, allowing us to become more cost effective, reliable and safer through incremental progress.”

On his part, John Wairimu, AA Kenya Head of Training, noted the value of comprehensive training in ensuring road safety saying, “The supervisors and managers we’ve trained here are now equipped to drive change as they lead the drivers through day-to-day operations. The benefits of this training will ripple out, positively impacting not just the county’s operations but the broader community as well.” 

The week-long training was held at AA Kenya’s Embakasi branch covering topics including vehicle maintenance, driver management, route planning, and safety protocols, with a strong emphasis on enhancing road safety, and fleet efficiency.

“Enhancing skills, knowledge and capacity among our customers through such training aligns perfectly with our aim to improve society by supporting them as they work to become more responsible citizens,” added Gichiri.