• City Hall crackdowns on illegally parked matatus
• Nairobi has engaged in multiple failed attempts to decongest the city.
Image: FILE
Cartels have been blamed for the congestion of Nairobi Central Business District (CBD) congestion due to double parking allocation.
Details have emerged that some two cartels operating within the CBD have been using the name of Nairobi's Governor Mike Sonko to extort new Saccos in order to allocate them parking slots
This is despite the parking slots having being allocated to other matatu Saccos thus creating congestion on along the CBD roads.
Nairobi County Assembly Transport Committee Chairman James Mwangi on Tuesday said there has been a lot of disorderliness and insanity in the CBD, brought about by double parking.
"The rate at which double parking especially along loading zones, on pavements and also in front of business premises is wanting," Mwangi said.
The committee had invited matatu Saccos so that they can deliberate on how to manage the congestion within the CBD and explain why there is a lot of double parking from the Saccos.
"Remember the number of vehicles is increasing but CBD does not expand, If we don't take the initiative and try to bring order in the public transport system in the city will end up being chaotic," Mwangi said.
Over 100 matatus have been impounded in Nairobi on Thursday morning for illegal parking within the CBD.
According to Nairobi County Parking Services Director, Tom Tinega, some matatu operators are very careless as they park, drop and pick passengers in undesignated areas. This has been causing obstruction that leads to traffic snarl up within the city.
"We have put the rogue Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) operators on notice, that we are not going to allow them to break the laws. Some of these individuals are careless and so pathetic in the way they do their work. This is a Capital City and sanity must prevail," said Tinega.
Image: FILE
Failed attempts to decongest the CBD
The Nairobi County Government has tried to decongest the city since Sonko took office in August 2017 but have failed.
He pledged to remove the matatu's from the CBD in the first 100 days in office. This did not happen after he changed his mind to allow for wider consultations.
On September 17, 2017 Sonko banned PSVs from accessing the city centre in an attempt to decongest the CBD but changed his mind to allow consultations.
On August 7, 2018 Sonko then issued a directive to allow only two matatus from one sacco to stop at any given termini at the same time but failed.
On December 3, 2018 Sonko banned matatus from accessing the CBD but suspended the ban less TEMPthan 24 hours later for consultations.
The latest attempt being early dis year on January 30, the National and County Government postponed car free days for further consultation with stakeholders.
Cartels and Illegal allocation
The committee's vice chair Mark Mugambi revealed that there are individuals brokering between the matatu owners and the county and they extort from matatu operators.
The same individuals have also allocated parking to private cars especially the taxis in slots to operate as PSVs which is illegal.
"We know very well that NTSA requirement is for a Sacco to exist legal it should have the requisite number of 30 vehicles, yet we have a Sacco named Chelsea that has only seven matatus but has been allocated slot along Tom Mobya Street. This is why even during the day, Tom Mboya street especially from the globe roundabout to Odeon is ever having traffic," Mugambi explained.
He told the Saccos present that, the city legislators are only trying to assist Governor Sonko to streamline decongestion issues.
Tom Mboya street and Latema road had been identified as the most notorious stages with some Saccos operating without licenses.
Mugambi said that CBD has a limited number of slots per SACCO against the high number of matatus.
Some Saccos have been attempting to take over the limited slots without holding a specific stage hence causing congestion.
"As a result, the exit points of the CBD get blocked due to extra Saccos trying to get holding places. That is why people are taking a maximum of between forty-five minutes to one hour only to leave the CBD especially in the evening," Mugambi said.
The committee had undertaken an inspection within the CBD to identify what is the real cause of traffic jams and congestion.
South C ward rep Osman Khalif, however, told the Saccos that decongestion of the CBD can only work if the Saccos work together with the county.
"We need to work together to get rid of the cartels so that sanity can return in the public transport," Osman said.
Image: file
Komarock MCA John Kamau urged the Saccos to involve and report any unusual work going on the CBD related to matatus.
"We don't want intimidation but we want the modest way we can use to bring back sanity in Nairobi. You are the stakeholders and we need to get solutions from you on how we can decongest the capital,"Kamau said.
Appearing before the committee was Matatu Owners Association chairman Simon Kimutai who said the Saccos especially Star Bus and Latema has faced the wrath of the cartels.
"The Saccos have been threatened, intimidated and have tried taking over our parking slot along Latema road," Kimutai said.
According to Kimutai, with a fleet of over 70 PSVs Star Bus Sacco is the original occupants of Latema road but currently, more than three Saccos occupy the road.
This has resulted to the congestion and narrowing of the road as the matatus compete to get holding grounds.
"As matatu owners, we will collaborate wif the county to expose these cartels. They are spoiling our work and we make our livelihood from it. They must be stopped," Kimutai said.