Officials of the Nairobi county in Kenya have announced an immediate suspension of the ban on minibuses within the central business district.
The minibuses locally called matatus were banned from accessing the city centre on Monday. County officials say the ban was intended to keep the city workers fit.
But the implementation came with chaos and stress for commuters who had to walk long distances to work and their destinations.
The governor of Nairobi city, Mike Sonko told a news conference on Tuesday that the suspension of the ban will allow for talks to find a lasting solution to congestion in the city.
“I have noted with concern the plight of Nairobi residents as a result of the ban and hereby announce that the full implementation of this directive has been suspended with immediate effect,” he said.
Sonko said “This is to facilitate further consultation with all affected parties, in order to find a lasting solution to the problem of vehicular congestion”.
After Monday’s pilot project of decongesting Nairobi’s CBD, I have suspended gazette notice 4479 of 12th May 2017 with immediate effect. We’ve noted with deep concern the plight of commuters if the ban was to be effected without the missing link of a commuter train & BRT system. pic.twitter.com/uJLzG5qtAN
— Mike Sonko (@MikeSonko) December 4, 2018
The suspension of the ban will significantly bring relief to residents of Nairobi who were unhappy with Monday’s ban.
Source: Africafeeds.com
