Africa
Transport Sector Investments to
Drive Anti-graffiti Coatings in East Africa
by Shem Oirere
Africa Correspondent
Countries in East Africa are expect- ed to grow their respective gross domestic product at between 3. 5
percent for Uganda and 7. 5 percent for
Rwanda, a development that is expected
to support the expansion of the road and
rail transport sector which is a major
consumer of anti-graffiti coating applications globally.
Kenya and Tanzania economies are
projected to grow at 5. 6 percent and 7. 4
percent respectively. Both have reported
expansion of their road and rail transport
segments with rail operators and passenger service vehicles (PSVs) companies set
to drive up consumption of anti-graffiti
coating solutions in the region.
Government data in these countries
show a steady increase in the number of
PSVs, passenger trains and locomotives to
cater for the growing number of freight
and commuters. The increase has also
fuelled demand for more quality road
and railway signage to enhance transport
safety for road and rail users. Road furniture in East Africa including road signs
have become targets of illegal graffiti that
leave them unreadable and exposing travelers and drivers to accidents.
The Kenyan transport sector, unlike
those of Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and
Burundi, provide a mixed bag of market
opportunities for anti-graffiti coating
manufacturers, dealers and suppliers.
When in 2003 Kenya’s former
Transport minister John Michuki banned
graffiti in PSVs, the anti-graffiti coating
market appreciated after vehicle owners
were forced to look for graffiti resistant
coatings suitable for the internal and
external surfaces of their vehicles. New
regulations required PSVs to have single
color, as specified in the logbook, with no
artistic drawings. The penalties for flout-
ing the ban were hefty and PSV operators
spent hundreds of dollars in cleaning up
the graffiti from their vehicles.
Demand went up for graffiti resistant
coatings especially the ones providing
properties that ensured vehicles retained
their initial appearance after applications
of the coatings. After 2003, the trend in
the Kenyan market for anti-graffiti coat-
ings appeared to grow in tandem with that
of the other four countries in the region.
However, the situation changed after
a new government took over office 2013,
with the new President, Uhuru Kenyatta,
announcing in November 2014 the return
of the use of graffiti in PSVs. Although the
country’s National Transport and Safety
Authority (NTSA) said only 50 percent of
the PSVs’ surface decorations and paint-
ing was to be customized with graffiti,
the President’s directive meant demand
for anti-graffiti coatings dropped as pub-
lic service vehicle owners and operators
wanted coatings that would ensure the
graffiti sticks to their vehicle surfaces and
not be easily erased. Most of the paint-
ings and decorations are the famous in-
ternational artists, politicians and even
spiritual beings.
NTSA, which previously cracked
down on vehicles with graffiti relaxed the
regulations after the presidential directive
and instead focused on preventing use of
inappropriate graffiti messages.
“As much as we might allow free ex-
pression, there must be rules to avoid
instances where, in exercising this right
of artwork on our PSVs, some might be
tempted to have nudity and messages
associated with extremism,” said NTSA
chairman Lee Kinyanjui in November
last year, when the graffiti ban was lifted.
NTSA Director General Francis Meja
said: “Graffiti that is offensive, that affects visibility such as blocking windows
