As residents of Nairobi lament over the ban issued by Governor Mike Sonko and the Nairobi County Government that prohibits public service vehicles from entering the Central Business District, Nairobi Senator Sakaja Johnson has now come out in the open and voiced his opinion on the Matatu CBD ban and from his remarks, he is definitely not reading from the same script as Governor Sonko.
Speaking at the consecration service of Bishop Dr. Njuguna at Deliverance Church in Langata, the Senator opposed the ban saying that the county government ought to provide a proper method and give residents of Nairobi county a better alternative.
He further asked the county government not to only look at the matatu which they say congest the city but instead also look at the passengers, who are the people they ought to be serving.
As I said yesterday and before. The move by @MikeSonko to ban matatus from the CBD is premature, and unfair to ordinary citizens. You don’t ban matatus before providing alternatives for commuters. MUST BE RESCINDED immediately and proper planning done. #MatatuCBDBan pic.twitter.com/4SXa8PpTUO
— Sakaja Johnson (@SakajaJohnson) December 3, 2018
“As I said yesterday and before. The move by @MikeSonko to ban matatus from the CBD is premature, and unfair to ordinary citizens. You don’t ban matatus before providing alternatives for commuters. MUST BE RESCINDED immediately and proper planning done. #MatatuCBDBan,” said Sakaja.
The Nairobi Senator now wants the ban revoked and has asked the county government to go back to the drawing board and formulate a much more realistic plan that will not inconvenience the commuter.
In a notice published on November 29, 2018, the county government said that it had established 11 new termini while declaring null and void all others that had been previously allocated.
“Operators are required to take note that the above changes take effect as from 3rd day of December and all previous gazette notices or letters allocating any other place as picking and dropping points within CBD are hereby revoked and become null and void as from 3rd day of December 2018,” read the notice signed by acting County Secretary Pauline Kahiga.
The move was aimed at decongesting the CBD but from the look of things, it has come at the expense of Nairobi residents, majority of whom rely on matatus as their primary means of transport.
According to the notice given, matatus from Uhuru Highway, Waiyaki Way, Kiambu, Thika Road, Kipande Road and Limuru Road will pick and drop passengers at Fig Tree in Ngara while all high capacity buses from upcountry will be stationed at Machakos Country bus.
PSVs using Mombasa Road and Lang’ata Road routes will now drop and pick passengers at Hakati terminus while those from Jogoo Road will terminate at Muthurwa. All matatus plying the Ngong Road route are expected to stop at Railways.
It’s sad that these rules are made by people who have the privilege of driving and therefore have no idea of what it could be like to have to walk for hours just to get to the office in the morning. Do you agree with the Senator that the county government needs to revise their plan?