The edict that all PSVs plying Jogoo Road terminate their journeys at Muthurwa was not well thought out.
I bet Uhuru and his team could have done some little research, to ascertain the cause of the traffic gridlock in the Nairobi CBDA.
This was not done, and decisions were made to economically gain a small segment of our society. Time has come when decisions made in the 21st century must bear the weight of the masses. We must think of the consequences of our thoughts.
Unfortunately, Uhuru and team did not weigh all options.
First, the idea of banning these PSVs from the Nairobi CBDA is selective and punitive. Selective because all other PSVs in Nairobi are allowed into the Nairobi CBDA. Punitive because those from the east of Nairobi, and plying Jogoo Road have been subjected to unnecessary punishment.
The Muthurwa terminas is so far from Nairobi, and it makes these commuters to walk far distances. I bet we must not punish the populace for our shortcomings. If Uhuru and team are unable to plan, let them not punish the tax payers.
To solve the Nairobi griddlock is very SIMPLE.
Let all the organized transport systems that Uhuru is hell bent on helping, ply across Nairobi. Do you remember that Kenya Bus Services used to have so many buses in Nairobi, and that they used to ply across Nairobi without causing the mayhem that the current tribal outfits do?
Someone must stop Uhuru. In 2003, Michuki came up with some edict that we thought was meant to create sanity on our roads. PSVs were ordered to fit speed governors and safety belts, and to carry some set number of people.
Kenyans celebrated in the hope that at long last order was being created on our rather chaotic road transport. Little did we know that that was an economic boost to certain cartels known to Michuki, people who had imported speed governors and safety belts, and a market was to be created for them.
After they sold their imports, the Michuki rules were relaxed.
The same is happening now. Space is being created for City Hoppa and Double M Connections, so that they can have the exclussive rights to mess and amass in Nairobi.
This must not be allowed.
If the Nairobi CBDA is out of bounds, it must be out of bounds for all, not just one section.
If anything, the gridlock around Kencom and Hotel Ambassadeur is still as it was, if not getting worse.
Solving this requires that all PSV transport that goes into town does not terminate their journeys in town. If a vehicle comes from Kayole, it must pass through town to Kenyatta Hospital.
If a vehicle comes from Buru Buru, it must pass through town to Kangemi. If it comes from Dandora, it must go all the way to Kibera. And if it comes from Huruma, it must go to Kawangware.
That way, we will have no jams in the CBDA. But to have City Hoppa and Double M terminating their journeys in the CBDA, besides causing that gridlock, is also discriminatory and a promotion of tribal economy.
Odhiambo T Oketch
Komarock, Nairobi
Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:20:08
Re: [madaraka-kenya] Can someone stop Uhuru
Hi Ndugu Oketch,
This looks like an internal Nairobi problem.
If I recall, you were a councillor candidate for one of the wards in Nrb. Although you may have not made it, I believe you have quite a number of following, a group of people, stakeholders you can mobilize.
There must also be the councillor who was elected in your area. I believe ODM MPs now controls Nairobi. You should talk to them to do their job. There are very effective strategies of dealing with such issues.
Instead of asking “Can someone stop Uhuru?”, take the bull on the horn and sort this mess out there on the ground.Who is this someone to stop Uhuru? Some of us don’t have the ability to influence this situation at all, [in as much as we would like to] simply because we are not on the ground. In fact you can seize this opportunity to show your leadership capability and position yourself for next time round.
What is needed urgently is Constitutional Reform
More importantly, if you would focus on constitutional reforms, then you can help bring forth a more participatory system where leaders do not make decisions without consulting those affected. This is a good example of the weaknesses of the present constitution where leaders have immense powers and can issue any directive however detrimental to the populace. And wananchi have no recourse but to write “can some one stop so and so?”
If after we reform our constitution, and Uhuru or anyone does what he has done, citizens should have the means of stopping the bad directive and not just lament about it with no recourse in sight.
Tegi Obanda
It starts with “can someone stop Uhuru’ for a situation to be taken head on. If there is no outright show of grievances, the common wananchi will continue to be repressed as the rich continue to flourish at the expense of the poor!
Apart from constitutional reforms, clear job descriptions should be implemented to give guidelines to public office holders so that they can be held accountable for the responsibilities bestowed on them. As it is now, who is to take responsibility for the mayhem caused by the Muthurwa saga, is it the Transport Ministry, Local Government Ministry, MP, Mayor or Councilor?
Once the job descriptions have been streamlined, no one can fault the other or shift blame for a job not done or job done badly! Public Office responsibilities should not overlap or override each other for purposes of scrutiny of how public resources are utilized to help curb the vice of corruption and unfair economic competition.