Nairobi’s Traffic Congestion Confusion: Where are the Citizens?

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Nairobi’s congestion-lack of traffic management and transit planning are evident. Courtesy: The Transport and Urban Decongestion Committee Report 2014.

By Jacqueline Klopp

In 2011 Nairobi’s congestion was ranked 4th worst in the world by International Business Machines Corp.’s Commuter Pain survey. Since then, despite various road construction projects including useful bypasses (now ring roads), conditions have gotten worse. Traffic congestion is on everyone’s minds even more than usual these days (if that is possible) with the ongoing redesign of some of Nairobi’s key roundabouts.

These proposed changes- without a proper traffic decongestion and transport strategy (along with basic legal and institutional changes)- could actually make everything worse.  A metropolitan transit authority was recommended in the 1973 Nairobi Metropolitan Growth Strategy,  but this recommendation was ignored until recently when the government put together a steering committee to create a Nairobi Area Metropolitan Transit Authority that would finally take ultimate responsibility for traffic and transit planning and management in the region.

Roundabouts

The plan for intervention by the Executive Task Force on Nairobi Decongestion (see link to presentation below)

In the mean time, the city and the Ministry must act on a proper set of strategic interventions that address the diverse causes of various structural and management bottlenecks in the flow of traffic, along with the the long term forces like increasing population and car ownership that in the long run will undermine any short term measures.  Unless people are given good, efficient and safe transit choices like expanded commuter rail, improved bus services or the ability to ride a bike safely in the city, congestion will be a major problem. So far, the government has been very slow to act on these measures, although with citizen and expert consultation the city county of Nairobi recently developed a very good policy on non-motorized transport (including walking and cycling) and plans for Bus Rapid Transit and improved commuter rail are in the works-although little to no public information is available on these initiatives.

Nairobi needs a proper mass transit system and non-motorized transport infrastructure. For years, the city has neglected much of its transit planning and traffic management responsibilities-the matatu industry, for example, has had to run transit pretty much on its own without the help of planned stops and stations and improved route planning. The Ministry of Transport with international lending institutions have been content to build scattered road projects and more recently transit projects but do not really consult widely, collect open data or monitor the impacts of their interventions.

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Missed opportunity to develop better bus transit? NMT was a clear afterthought on Thika Highway.

Take the Nairobi-Thika Highway upgrade project: it failed to include a smart plan for public transit that carries the bulk of the people in the corridor and in the absence of this plan, did not cater for the existing matatu system that does provide service. It ignored pedestrians and cyclists and the infrastructure that was put in as an afterthought is extremely poor. Thika Highway now has a growing congestion problem, a management problem and a traffic violence problem all very likely to grow worse than before. But who is monitoring and will advocate for the public interest?

Nairobi’s gridlock is a symptom of this basic neglect to manage transportation infrastructure, traffic and transit. The problem has finally reached a point where we are seeing some action. Sadly, this is also where some confusion is arising. On 27 January 2014 Governor Kidero commissioned a committee of local experts and stakeholders including the Kenya Alliance of Residents Associations and the Matatu Owner’s Association among others to address Nairobi’s congestion. Led by a respected University of Nairobi professor Dr. Marion Mutugi, this Transport and Urban Decongestion Committee (TUDC) for the first time held a wide ranging set of meetings with Nairobians and experts on how to address congestion. Their recommendations-based on consultations with citizens and diverse local experts from matatu owners to ambulance drivers- are very sensible. You can read the TUDC report handed to the governor here.

So why was the report shelved by the governor? It was surprising to hear last month that a new Executive Task Force on Congestion had formed at the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure. The Task Force gave a presentation and  immediately hired contractors to take out key roundabouts  and are planning to redesign matatu routes (without route data, I discovered). You can see the presentation this new executive task force gave last month which provides some information of their plans now moving forward in Nairobi. Why did the Ministry with support from the governor derail a citizen and local expert led, open process for addressing decongestion?  Why is an executive initiative planning to tear up roundabouts in the city (which require a proper traffic management system to work!!!) without engaging the work of the TUDC and local experts who are eager to engage in the sort of process needed for sustained change? For too long the transportation sector has been treated as a kind of moneymaking club where citizens and most local experts have no say. If we want to fix congestion in Nairobi, we should go back to the TUDC report and with the support of the committee and all who contributed to it, start from there. The city and the Ministry need to build a transparent and accountable set of steps towards actual traffic management and transport planning based on shared data and public information, citizen and local expert feedback and monitoring. Otherwise, Nairobi, center of almost half the country’s economic production and opportunity, will grind to a halt.

Nairobi Planning Innovations is pleased to also note that the Kenya Institute of Public Policy and Research Analysis has just released a valuable policy brief on Mitigating Road Traffic Congestion in the Nairobi Metropolitan Region.

Upgrading Occupied Space: What is the National Youth Service Doing in Mathare and Kibera?

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Waiting for eviction in Kibera. What next?

By Simon Kokoyo

The Kenyan government through the National Youth Service (NYS) has decided to improve the general living conditions in poor neighborhoods of Nairobi, namely Kibera, Mathare, Korogocho and Mukuru. These neighborhoods are known for high population density, inadequate health facilities, insecurity, unemployment and almost nonexistent garbage collection systems. The poor conditions in Kibera, Mathare, Korogocho and Mukuru can easily create an impression that there has never been government intervention or development plans for these areas and creates the temptation to address problems that seem amenable to a ‘quick fix’ like picking up garbage.

In Mathare, NYS personnel together with selected community members conducted a mapping exercise to identify needs or places that require a ‘quick fix’ such as uncollected garbage piles and blocked drainage and rivers. They are also  planning to construct dispensaries, police posts, fish ponds, markets, posho mills and urban farming areas. When President Uhuru visited Mathare and said that dispensaries, police posts, markets, fish ponds, posho mills and sewer lines will be constructed creating employment opportunities for more than 3500 youths including women, everybody was happy and waiting to see the new look of Mathare and other neighborhoods earmarked for improvement. After three weeks of clearing garbage, cleaning drainages and opening rivers, questions are now emerging; do we really need the planned 12 police posts, 12 dispensaries and how did NYS team arrive at all these figures in Mathare? It has now also dawned on the community that these facilities will require space, which is currently occupied.

Affected area

Mathare is a place where spaces for public amenities have been grabbed-where to build and how to move those to be displaced

It is common knowledge that certain open spaces that were set aside for social amenities have been occupied or grabbed a long time ago. None of this grabbing has ever been addressed. Now, as amenities are being built, people will have to be displaced. For example in Mathare 3B, more than 500 residents have already been issued with 30 days notice by the Nairobi City County to pave way for NYS projects in Mathare or to move out of a piece of land identified for market development. In Kibera people who had occupied spaces meant for sewer lines, toilet blocks and roads were expected to vacate immediately. Some have already been displaced without compensation.

Once the NYS and some community leaders identify a piece of land for improvement or development a short notice is issued and occupants are expected to carry out a voluntary demolition and in some cases NYS locally hired youths will assist. There is lot of movement (shifting) within Kibera and Mathare, which is not painless for families, and if the intent is to improve the conditions of the poor, then these people require some support and compensation for their sacrifice for the broader community. In addition, in some place like Lindi-Kibera rents have increased after improvement on road and other social amenities. These adverse impacts of the NYS interventions on the very poor should be addressed. In the past, unless there are safeguards, slum improvements tend to drive out the poorest who are meant to benefit.

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Where are the people who lived and worked here in Kibera now?

Everybody agrees that the inhumane conditions in the poor neighborhoods need to be improved urgently. However, the government should be sensitive to the fact that such communities have emerged over long period of time and as a result of certain push and pull factors common with cities experiencing rapid urbanization such as poverty, forceful eviction, conflicts, job opportunities, closeness to resources or affordable housing. Past experiences in Kenya (Mathare 4A and Kibera Upgrading Projects) show that slum or informal settlement upgrading is a complex and time-consuming process. Residents require some compensation for their losses or need to be shown alternative land for displacement to be humane and in compliance with the law. When people are moved this will impact their ability to access jobs, customers and services. It also affects children who are schooling in the area. The National Youth Service projects should think about how it is approaching evictions. It is good that the government is in a hurry to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods, but it should go beyond the “quick fix” mentality to have a long term vision so that the amenities are staffed and financed and can have an impact on people’s wellbeing. Finally, if this initiative is to be pro-poor, the government should also be sensitive to the needs of those who will be displaced in order to improve poor neighborhoods. The government must also comply with the law in moving people which entails proper procedures and some compensation or alternative location.

Nairobi Planning Innovations is appreciative of the attention the government is paying to these poor communities. It is still important, however, to note that interventions should be compliant with both the constitution (Article 43(1)(b)  which states that, every person has the right to accessible and adequate housing and to reasonable standards of sanitation) and the little known The Prevention, Protection and Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons and Affected Communities Act, 2012 which sets out guidelines for how displacement is to happen to respect the rights and dignity of the displaced.