Kidero reduces parking fees for matatus

What you need to know:

  • Matatus carrying 14 passengers will now pay a monthly parking fee of Sh3,650, down from Sh5,000.
  • 41-sitter matatus will pay a monthly parking fee of Sh5,500, down from Sh8,000.
  • Matatus carrying over 41 passengers will pay Sh7,250, down from Sh10,000.

Matatu operators in Nairobi can now breath easy after Governor Evans Kidero gave a directive to reduce parking fees for public service vehicles within the city centre.

Matatus carrying 14 passengers will now pay a monthly parking fee of Sh3,650, down from Sh5,000.

The 41-sitter matatus will pay a monthly parking fee of Sh5,500, down from Sh8,000, while matatus carrying more than 41 passengers will pay Sh7,250, down from Sh10,000.

The reduction will only benefit matatus registered to about 70 saccos in the county. The directive takes effect next month.

E-PAYMENT FACILITY

“From next month, matatus within these saccos will start paying the rates that I directed when we met at my offices,” Dr Kidero said.

He was speaking on Thursday at the launch of an e-payment facility that will collect seasonal tickets for matatu operators in Nairobi.

Matatus that had not been registered to the saccos that negotiated the deal with the county government will not benefit from the reduction.

Dr Kidero said there were more than 30,000 matatus operating in Nairobi and only 11,000 paid parking fees. The county will now work in partnership with the saccos that have partnered with his government to weed out the defaulters.

In the Finance Act of 2013, City Hall had doubled parking fees within the central business district, including the city centre, Westlands, Ngara, Community, Industrial Area and Karen.

In the Act, daily parking fees rose from Sh140 to Sh300. This prompted matatu operators to stage protests in April that paralysed public transport in the capital.

The County Executive Committee (CEC) member for Trade, Industrialization, Co-operative Development, Tourism and Wildlife, Mrs Anna Othoro, said Governor Kidero's waiver is within the law.

She stated that the executive had consulted with the county assembly and stakeholders to approve the waivers.

“We followed the procedure and the governor, working with the CEC finance, processed the request for a waiver and we have agreed with (the) county assembly, who have no problem with reduction of the charges. It is also within the governor's powers in the appropriations law to award this waiver,” she said.