The big fuss in Nairobi lately (aside from poking fun at Raila for suddenly becoming a bigshot with his own convoy) is that city council has suddenly decided to cut down on congestion in the city centre by taking drastic action against the hawkers and the matatus. They're going about it in a hilariously heavy-handed way that is sure to backfire. Forget working with the hawkers and matatu owners to find a fair solution: the city is simply attempting to ban all of them outright. No more hawkers or small matatus in the central business district, period. And all of this was to happen today, though of course it didn't. The town was stuffed with mats and wares, and touts from both professions attempting to bully potential customers with the regular cries of "beba, beba!" (carry, carry).
A market just outside of town has been built to accommodate the hawkers, but they will have to pay Ksh100 per day (a little less than a dollar fifty) to rent a stall, and there won't be enough room to hold all of them. This means that they are not only being asked to leave the best area for business, but that they will have to pay for that sub-prime space instead of getting the good spots for free, and that they will have to scramble in the mornings to get a spot at all. As much as the hawkers are a major annoyance, I do feel a bit sorry for them. Some had attempted a protest yesterday, and were pushed back with tear gas. Apparently, some of the past efforts to eject hawkers from the downtown core have turned violent, and both police and hawkers have been killed. I hope it doesn't come to that -- we've seen enough bloodshed this year. But if you've ever bargained with someone in the street, you know that those guys can be pretty damn tough and persistent. They're not going to give up easy. And if the hawkers are kicked out of town, how will people make their regrettable drunken shoe purchases after a long night of clubbing? I ask you.
As for the matatus, the owners of the Nissan vans and larger "moving bar" minibuses are fuming because the ban applies to them, but not to the owners of the larger, more uniform buses that are with companies like Citi Hoppa and Double M. They protest that the rules are unfair and that no one will take matatus now, which is true -- if you know that a matatu will drop you on the side of the road somewhere and a bus will take you all the way to town, which will you take? And there is no reason to be banning one form of public transportation and not another, since both are privately owned and contribute equally to the insane traffic jams. While matatus are a menace, they are always completely full, so their services are clearly needed. It would be smarter to impose a levy on private cars coming into the city centre, in order to cut down on the number of cars on the road with a single passenger. Another good way to cut down on traffic would be to put environmental and safety regulations in place for both public and private vehicles. Cars and matatus are usually bought, extremely well-used, from Europe. Many of them are a pothole away from the junk heap, constantly belching blue-black smoke, and yet they keep rattling along. Getting rid of some of those vehicles would do wonders for Nairobi's air quality, would improve the safety of public transportation, and would help clear out the roads as well.
It would also be nice if the transportation system didn't force everyone to come through town. Almost all public vehicles are either going to or coming from town, at all times, no matter where your final destination lies. Add that to ineffective roundabouts and traffic lights that are consistently ignored, and it's no wonder that Nairobi's traffic is a mess. Banning matatus is only going to make everyone angry, dear politicians. Perhaps you don't notice, what with your own drivers and two cars each, but trust me, public transportation is incredibly important. Find another way.
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