Mombasa governor hopeful Suleiman Shahbal (C) when he toured Majengo, Mombasa on Tuesday afternoon. [Photo: Suleiman Shahbal/ facebook.com]
Mombasa gubernatorial candidate Suleiman Shahbal has criticised Governor Hassan Joho’s administration for imposing exorbitant parking fees for Passenger Service Vehicles (PSVs).
Shahbal said the Sh2,000 that PSVs pay as parking fees was too high.The 2013 gubernatorial contender said the charges go against the governor’s recent remarks that his government supports small businesses to thrive in the Coastal town.He was speaking when he met members of the Kisii community living in Mombasa on Monday.“Did you know that despite matatus paying a monthly parking fee of Sh2,000 they don’t have a stage at the Central Business District,” he said after the meeting in which he reported the Kisii community had endorsed his gubernatorial bid.“This subjects them to frequent harassment from city law enforcers. My administration will solve this.”He claimed Joho’s government marginalizes small business owners in the town because the governor is afraid that if empowered, they will become critical of his “underperforming government”.He said his government will ensure essential services are offered.“When residents of Mombasa ask the current local leadership to show what they have done with their budgeted of Sh40 billion over the last four and a half years, they mean it, Shahbal said.“That is a lot of money. My administration will ensure essential services are offered with basic ones such as waste management being sorted within less than a month of our taking over.”He said under his leadership there will be a special Fund that will be managed by each MCA to support development at the ward level.“We will give each of the 30 wards Sh50 million every year under the MCA and a committee by residents who will prioritise what their urgent issues are in what we are calling ‘Maendeleo Mashinani’ among many other initiatives. That is not rocket science.