Tinega denies wrongdoing, says they only give direction and guidance
Image: MAUREEN KINYANJUI
MCAs on Tuesday told City Hall's parking department to stop taking over the functions of the Transport docket and instead focus on boosting revenue collection.
The county assembly's transport committee accused parking department director Tom Tinega of allocating picking and dropping points to matatu saccos, extending routes and issuing loading zones - functions they said fall under the transport docket.
The parking department is under the finance docket.
The MCAs said Tinega had usurped the mandate of the transport department, yet he had not delivered on his core duties.
Umoja One MCA Mark Mugambi said the parking department was meddling in matatu issues that should be sorted out by the transport department.
"The parking department led by Tinega should cease from performing functions bestowed upon the roads and transport sector including issuance of picking and dropping points, route extensions and loading zones," Mugambi said.
He added, "I suggest that his committee rule that any letter written to matatu saccos touching on the above from Tinega should be revoked."
Utalii MCA Wilson Ochola said the parking department was underperforming in its core mandate of revenue collection yet the boss was busy usurping the roles of other officials.
"The director has been in the county since 2013 and he has never been a performer. He has taken over duties in the county that are not meant to be undertaken by the parking department," Ochola Ochola.
But Tinega has denied wrongdoing. He said he had not allocated any bus stops to matatu saccos.
"Stages in the CBD are already gazetted so it is not something new. What we do as a department is to remind the matatu operators on what they are supposed to do on those stages and according to the law," Tinega said.
"When we do public letters and notices to the matatu saccos, we only inform them that they need to work within the gazetted termini as per the law. It is not a mandate we have imposed on ourselves as a department but we give guidance."
Transport committee chairperson Joyce Muthoni directed that the parking department concentrate n revenue collection and let the transport docket deal with issues of matatu stages.
"We need the two departments to stick to their mandates so that revenue collection can be boosted especially in parking. There is need for coordination between the two," Muthoni said.
She called for a meeting next week on Tuesday with officials from the two departments asked to attend. The National Transport and Safety Authority will also be represented in the meeting.
Muthoni directed that all notices issued by the parking department from 2017 regarding matatu termini be brought before the committee.
edited by peter obuya