By January 1st 2021, all buses will be banned within Kisumu’s Central Business district (CBD). According to acting city manager Abala Wanga, any bus companies flouting the order will face legal consequences. Wanga said that the buses will have to seek alternative stations outside CBD to reduce congestion.
Wanga said that the decision is based on the Urban and Cities Act 2011 and will affect all buses including Easy Coach, Guardian, Persika and Ena Coach, among others.
He said that the County government “will tow or cause to tow all the buses or vehicles without further reference to the owners at their own risks.”
In the last few months, traders in Kisumu have faced evictions and demolition of their business premises because, according to the County government, the city must be kept clean and attractive while the county government has claimed that it also needs space for development.
The county has been undergoing a major face-lift with the help of donor-funded projects such as the Ksh 241 million Non-Motorized Transport (NMT) aimed at pedestrians and cyclists by making their trips to the city convenient, comfortable and safe.
An appendage of NMT is the Ksh 37 million market baptized “Chichwa” whose stalls have become trading bases for 518 traders with another 240 traders also doing business as open-air traders.
The market, which is funded by the World Bank, is well equipped with power, water, trading stalls, designated trading areas, security facilities and water reticulation.
The project is funded through the State Department of Urban Development and the Kenya Urban Support Programme.
The demolition of business premises drew huge criticisms from traders who accused the County government of destroying their means of income without providing alternatives.
Since majority of the traders had no legal rights to occupy the spaces on which they were trading, court cases to challenge the demolitions failed, and majority of traders within the CBD lost their businesses.
The relocation of the buses from CBD is, therefore, a continuation of the clean-up operation to make Kisumu city clean and tidy.
KCA Correspondent
