Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has asserted that the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system will be up and running in Nairobi in the next 3-4 months.
This is despite fierce opposition from a section of matatu owners from Mount Kenya region who last Saturday speaking at Ruiru Stadium, sought President Uhuru Kenyatta's assurance that the BRT system won't affect their transport business negatively.
This group of matatu owners drawn from among other counties Nairobi, Kajiado, Machakos, Muranga and Kiambu, said the implementation of BRT will push them out of business, arguing it is a "skewed design by unscrupulous individuals out to make a killing from it".
"The officials fronting the BRT system do not even own matatus. The real matatu owners were, unfortunately, left out of the decision to bring in these high capacity buses which will render over a million Kenyans who depend on the transport industry jobless. The BRT is not an emergency,” Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu who was appointed as the group's patron said.
However, Sonko who criticised Waititu accusing him of 'tribalism' during Citizen TV's JKL show on Wednesday, maintained that the plan will go on irrespective of opposition from some quarters.
"The BRT buses will be in Nairobi in the next three to four months. This initiative to decongest Nairobi County is not only backed by my government but also by President Uhuru Kenyatta. Therefore, those saying that it is backed by cartels out to benefit themselves should know better," Sonko said.
The governor's latest declaration on the same could open another can of worms between him and Waititu who during the Saturday's meeting said that "Nairobi belongs to all of us" while warning Sonko against making "haphazard orders".
#hivisasaoriginal