Motorists had vowed to paralyse transport on Wednesday morning after the Kenyan Motorists Association (KMA) asked members to park their vehicles on major roads and highways from 7.30am to 10.30am.
The aim was to protest a plan by Treasury to implement a 16 per cent VAT on petroleum products beginning September 1 which will see fuel prices go up by Sh17 per litre.
However, by the look of things, KMA's planned protest has backfired on their faces as many roads are reportedly clear with no incidents of traffic jams.
Thika Superhighway for instance which is usually jam-parked near Muthaiga area, was as clear as snow.
So, why did the KMA plan boomerang?
1. Wrong timing: The fact that the 16 per cent VAT is yet to come into effect so that many motorists can really start feeling the heat means you should expect no one to comply with calls to protest.
2. Question on the membership of KMA: How many private motorists in Kenya are really members of this association? And would they feel protected enough by the association to risk the consequences of their blocking of roads and even getting late for work?
3. Schools are on holidays: Now that schools are closed and a sizeable number of private motorists are parents taking kids to school, this call for protests was bound to fail. Wait for schools to open and see how effective this will be.
4. Tuesday was a holiday: Kenyans are known to be always looking for excuses to miss work. Yesterday many may have indulged in whatever they like and today they have got a lame excuse not to go to work; the roads were blocked. Mind you these are the very people that were expected to block the roads.
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