Kenyans and the great trek

"A working and a walking nation". That was the joke most Nairobi residents embraced to belie their extreme frustrations from early February when virtually half of the city's workforce trekked to work for lack of public transport.

A visitor to the country could have concluded that the Kenyans had ingeniously responded to the "working nation" clarion call by the new president, Mwai Kibaki.

Yet, this was a reaction to a bold move by the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) government to streamline the public service vehicle (PSV) sector that was hitherto a law unto itself. On the spot was the Matatu (Omnibus) sector, that comprise almost 80 per cent of the urban public transport system, but which has been seeped in misdemeanours such as reckless driving, vulgarities and obscenities on the road, playing loud music, the knack to dish bribes to traffic officers, as well as a breeding ground for hoodlums.

But as almost 90 per cent of the Matatus and buses that had not met the new regulations by January 31 stayed out of the road, Kenyans are questioning whether the approach taken by the transport minister, John Michuki, was the right one even if he enjoyed enormous support from the public weary of harassment from the matatu crews.

Analysts are wondering how much battering the limping Kenyan economy can take in the form of a national transport crisis that for only one week resulted into enormous loss of man-hours, even as public vehicles begin to trickle back to the roads. Though the economic losses in the initial stages are yet to be quantified, most workers arrived late for work and left early, significantly reducing their output.

Among the controversial regulations include the requirement for all PSVs install speed governors with the limit of 80km/h, every passenger to use safety belts, all matatus to have uniform colours in the form of six-inch yellow stripes, all drivers of matatus and buses to wear uniforms, and that by next January, no public transport vehicle will be imported into the country without speed governors.

Apparently, the previous Kenya African National Union [KANU] government was unable to streamline the matatu sector, that apart from having been heavily politicised, have for years fiercely resisted what they perceived as the government's unwelcome interference in private businesses in a liberalised economy.

Besides the reluctance on the part of the PSV owners to abide by the new regulations until the last minute, it also emerged that the government did not have a concrete plan to implement the new rules. Notably, 70 per cent of the matatus were not aware of the type of gadgets (mainly speed governors) that was officially gazzetted only three weeks to the deadline.

But despite the fact that 30 percent of the matatus are expected to go out of business, thus compounding the transport crisis that could take as long as one Year. Most Kenyans are supportive of the new regulations that has seen those who get the chance travel in comfort hitherto unknown in the matatu sector.

The government is particularly bullish, that the new rules, apart from restoring sanity in a sector previously dominated by vicious cartels, will go a long way in reducing the high number of road accidents through reckless driving.

In the last 10 years, 28,000 Kenyans have died in road accidents, while 330,000 have been injured, placing a great economic and social loss to the families. The insurance industry, that previously shunned the sector due to high risks, is following the developments keenly with a view of coming in in large numbers.

It is encouraging for the insurers that the number of passengers have been reduced from 18 to 14, reducing the number of people at risk, while seatbelts and speed governors will ensure that the number of accidents and the intensity of injuries, come down.

However, the government will have to contend with the fact that the move will result into the increased traffic in the already congested city roads. In view of the reduced seating capacity, analysts say that there will be need for one additional vehicle for every three that used to operate in order to meet the commuter demand.

Often described as a necessary evil, the matatu industry began as an informal sector in the early 1970s as an initiative of the founding president, Jomo Kenyatta, to provide employment to the disadvantaged at the height of Africanisation.

But three decades down the line, the sector grew into a powerful multi-billion shilling industry that continue to attract a lot of vested interests, even from powerful quarters, which in turn saw the sector infested with far too many powerful cartels and mafia-like practices.

The cartels previously demand illegal and exorbitant fee of between Ksh 60,000 to 100,000 as a form of protection for every new investor wishing to put his vehicle on the roads.

With a highly organised network, the matatu sector became attractive to politicians who used the rowdy members to advance their political objectives. For example, matatu touts have since 1990s, been enthusiastic participants in virtually all opposition-sponsored political mass action.

Yet, despite optimism that the sector has finally been streamlined, the NARC government will have to avoid the mistakes made by its predecessor during the introduction of the 1999 Transport Licensing Board (TLB) regulations.

While the KANU government had noted considerable support for its fight against Mafia-like practices, the politically-loaded zeal with which the government sought to implement the TLB regulations, overshadowed the good intentions.

The government then could not extricate itself from the well-cultivated perception within the matatu circles that the measure were an excuse to cut the industry to size and have a dip at the sector’s immense financial kitty to fund some political activities in the face of financial quagmire .

It was also seen as seeking to put a halt to the growth of the lucrative sector with the aim of creating room for some politically-connected individuals to make inroads into the public transport sector especially in Nairobi

But more importantly, the failure to rein in on the matatu sub-sector has often been attributed to the fact that besides cartels, far too many influential personalities ranging from politicians to top ranking police officers, have immense interests in matatu business.

As a result, the police had been reluctant to fully implement the Traffic Act, that prohibits reckless driving and touting, but which went on under the nose of the police.

Recently, Michuki revealed what Kenyans had suspected all along that police officers own about 40 per cent of matatus on the Kenyan roads. It will be interesting to see how the much maligned traffic police enforce compliance with the new regulations.