Sakaja Bans Hawkers From Parts Of Nairobi CBD
Sakaja announced the directive during a consultative meeting with the inspectors manning the CBD and representatives of the hawkers.
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Nairobi Governor, Johnson Sakaja has imposed a ban on hawking in sections of the city's Central Business District (CBD) in a move to restore dignity and sanity to the capital.
Sakaja announced the directive during a consultative meeting with the inspectors manning the CBD and representatives of the hawkers.
"There will be no hawking on the streets. In fact, I'm enforcing it from tomorrow (Thursday) morning, even around the bus station, I won't allow it," Sakaja announced.
As per the new directive, hawking will be banned along the Tom Mboya section leading to Moi Avenue, meaning that hawkers will have to find areas alternative to the section.
A hawker attending to his business in Nairobi CBD. /MONEY254
Sakaja argued that the move was not only to safeguard the hawkers who put their lives at risk while selling their wares on roads but also to allow motorists to move around with ease.
“I'm not just taking care of you, I'm also taking care of the people walking in the city," Sakaja noted.
"We want to treat our people as human beings and do the right thing. I want to make it clear that from Tom Mboya coming to Moi Avenue, the lanes connecting to Moi Avenue will have no hawking."
The governor went on to state that priority should be given to hawkers on the back lanes where they will be allowed to carry out their businesses.
"In fact, they should be given priority on the back lanes because we have a plan for that road. We have a plan for that road because we have received billions from investors from the French Development Agency when I was in Paris, we will construct a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system," he added.
Sakaja also revealed that plans were underway to widen the road so as to accommodate the hawkers and bring about easiness where hawkers, pedestrians and road users can carry out their day-to-day duties without chaotic interruptions.
"We're going to expand that road to be hawkable because I am not just taking care of you, I'm taking care of Kenyans who are walking, those owning shops. So everybody must get their peace, we cannot favour one group over another."
In a stern warning to his inspectorate officers (kanjos), the governor affirmed that fairness must be exercised in his orders and implementation must be taken with a lot of seriousness.
Sakaja also commended his officers for the good work they have done since he took office, adding that the tainted image of the City Inspectorate has been restored.
"All our officers must be in uniform. I don't want anybody to work out of uniform unless they are part of our plain clothes team," the governor directed the chief officer in charge of security.
He also instructed all kanjos to undergo refresher training sessions regarding dealing with people during their operations, adding that they will also be allocated specific spots in the CBD.
This, he added, would help enhance effectiveness in the sector which has recently witnessed controversy regarding their conduct.
On Wednesday, October 18, Viral Tea reported that plain-clothes kanjo officers were captured in several photos and videos circulating on social media impounding smokie trolleys in the CBD on the guise of lacking food handlers permits, threatening the livelihoods of the owners of the food businesses before they were bailed out by the governor.
On the same day, a kanjo officer's confrontation with TikToker Gloria Ntazola who acused him of entering her vehicle without her consent sparked mixed reactions nationwide.
