Heavy traffic in Nairobi. [PHOTO/buzzkenya.com]
After mixed reactions from the proposed matatu ban within the Nairobi CBD, Governor Mike Sonko has now suspended the ban.
According to Sonko, the order issued on Friday was just a pilot project to ensure that school-going children and CBD workers going to office are dropped in the CBD without heavily affecting flow of traffic.
The governor made the retreat move on Monday after a consultation meeting with matatu stakeholders at City Hall.
Among the temporary measures to address the traffic menace are that there shall be no double-parking, unnecessary u-turns, obstruction, noise pollution or blocking of business premises.Critics are now saying that the ban could be headed to futility just like a similar ban earlier issued by former governor Evans Kidero.
In May, Kidero's county government banned all PSVs from accessing the CBD in an effort to ease traffic.
But the Matatu Owners Association moved through its Chair Simon Kimutai to dismiss the directive on grounds that they were not consulted by City Hall while drafting the regulations.