Candidates eyeing the Nairobi governor seat had an opportunity to detail their agenda for the city residents in the first-ever debate on Monday, July 11, 2022.
The issue of the perennial traffic jams in the capital featured prominently in the debate hosted at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa.
Kenneth Nyamwamu, seeking the city’s top job on the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) party ticket, proposed working shifts to end the traffic menace.
“To reduce traffic jams, let’s introduce working shifts, to have people come to work on different shifts, to stop people coming and leaving at the same time,” Nyamwamu stated.
Reviving the plans to transform the city into a 24-hour economy, he said, will boost the initiative.
Nyamwamu also said he would encourage the expansion of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system and car holidays to solve the traffic problem.
“Another thing we can do about congestion is to have car holidays…days where we don’t allow private cars into the city. Let everybody use BRT or public transportation,” he said.
Nyamwamu is a Data Analyst and registered nurse based in the United States of America.
Safina party candidate Harman Singh Grewal proposed a mass transport system and digitisation of the public transport system as solutions to the traffic snarl-ups common in Nairobi.
“The solution to traffic is not creating more roads…Because of the expanding population, we need to have structured mass transport systems that are of quality. Bringing in double-decker buses into Nairobi would reduce the cost of transport for the government and citizens. We also need to digitise matatus. Lastly, we can have a digital carpooling system,” Grewal stated.
Usawa Kwa Wote party’s Nancy Wambui Mwadime and Esther Waringa Thairu (independent) encouraged the use of public transport to solve the perennial traffic jams in Nairobi.
The candidates spoke during the first of the two-tier gubernatorial debate that featured candidates whose popularity ratings, according to recent surveys, stand below 5 per cent.
Governor hopefuls skip debate
Cleophas Kiio Mutua of Ford Kenya, Denise Kodhe (LDP party) and Agnes Kagure (independent) skipped the debate.
Leading candidates Johnson Sakaja of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party and Polycarp Igathe of Jubilee attended the second debate that kicked off at 8:00pm.
