NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 5 – Matatu Owners Association Chairman Simon Kimutai, has asked Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja to engage in consultations with the stakeholders in the Matatu sector before relocating vehicles from the Central Business District (CBD) to the Green Park Terminus.
Last month, Sakaja had stated that his plan to relocate long distance PSVs to the Green Park terminus was aimed at decongesting the CBD.
In an interview with Capital FM News, Kimutai said that the action will be ineffective because the Green Park is constructed near a highway, which will cause traffic jams given the city’s high PSV density.
The legislation, he continued, clearly specifies that stakeholders who will be impacted by any decisions made by a government office must first be consulted, therefore, Sakaja is required to involve everyone engaged in this decision in order to achieve the best possible results for decongesting the city.
“Consultation is very important and when we have and individual making decision by themselves without consulting stakeholders then definitely there will be a problem,” he said.
“The construction of Green Park was done without consultation and the law is very clear that consult stakeholders who are affected by the new decision to drop business from the position and the people who did it never thought it could backfire.”
“The biggest problem is the location. Nobody refuses to have a place to do business within Green Park but the location makes actually the whole operations be difficult.”
According to Kimutai, the stakeholders will not agree to the decision to shift Matatus to Green Park without their input at the decision-making table, because the PSVs are in the business sector. This includes welcoming stakeholder consultation and allowing them to contribute, implement, and enforce their suggestions.
Kimutai continued that it is challenging for all vehicles to drop off and pick up people at the Green Park in Nairobi because of the nature of reporting to work and leaving time, and there is nothing magical that can be done to solve the issue, forcing PSVs to operate at the CBD.
“The green park now is like a white elephant; it is an investment that cannot be used. The infrastructure is looking beautiful but unfortunately it is difficult to use it and you will not say people to relocate to that place without consulting them,” he added.
The terminus, which was constructed by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) at the cost of Sh250 million, was initially intended for PSVs plying Langata and Ngong road routes.
Alongside Green Park, the county had earmarked five other termini that were set up by NMS to be the official pick-up and drop-off points once matatus are barred from entering the CBD.
