The National Transport and Safety Authority has deregistered 64 saccos whose matatus had stopped transporting Kenyans yesterday.
This was an absurd decision. The saccos are being punished for keeping their vehicles off the road. How are they being punished? By being told to keep their vehicles off the road!
Saccos and matatu owners may have mistakenly failed to take seriously recent warnings of the imminent implementation of the Michuki Rules. But now that the rules are being strictly enforced, they need to ensure that their vehicles are compliant. Many matatus were legitimately off the road.
Government put the saccos in a Catch 22 situation – put your vehicles on the road and be arrested, or stay off the road and be deregistered.
In any case, the Constitution guarantees the right for workers to withhold their labour in industrial action.
Government says it wants a safe regulated matatu industry. Fair enough. But banning 64 saccos is not the right way to achieve that. Ensuring that those saccos comply is the right way forward.
Quote of the day: "You've got to vote for someone. It's a shame, but it's got to be done."
Whoopi Goldberg
The American actress was born on November 13, 1955.
