Practical suggestions to reduce traffic madness in Nairobi

By Toshihisa Takata

Kenya: Before I leave this beautiful country in a few days’ time, allow me to make a humble suggestion to my Kenyan friends concerning traffic conditions in Nairobi as an Ambassador of the country that supplies the majority of vehicles running here.

I truly enjoyed life in Kenya during my three-year assignment. Beautiful nature, warm-hearted people, nice climate of Nairobi, just to name a few. The only headache I had was the heavy and unpredictable traffic in Nairobi.

There are several reasons behind the traffic situation in this vibrant capital city. The biggest reason may be the inadequate infrastructure compared to the number of vehicles. I totally share the view that places focus on nfrastructural development.

In fact, Japan is a leading development partner in this field and has supported a number of infrastructure projects, including the Western Ring Road Project in Nairobi. At the same time, however, I notice that people’s traffic manners represent an important part of the problem.

I often encounter a handful of cars blocking entire T-intersections or crossroads. Just a few drivers make a rush to try to save only a few seconds, and as you are all familiar with, the result is gridlock that turns all road users into losers.

To relieve the traffic jams in Nairobi, my suggestion is to identify hot spots and deploy jobless youths as traffic marshals to complement the traffic police. I understand that some Kenyan universities and the IBM are working together to collect information on the traffic jams  in Nairobi,  and I fully support their initiative.

After completion of necessary training and introduction of safety measures, the hired young traffic marshals will work in rotation at the identified hot spots during rush hour in the morning and in the evening. I am aware of the hard work by the traffic police in Nairobi, but the number of traffic police officers may not be enough considering the omnipresence of the jam.

I am also aware of the benefits of traffic lights, but what Nairobi needs now may be a coordinated and flexible traffic control by humans, not by fancy high-tech traffic lights that are not synchronized with adjacent intersections.

This proposal is expected not only to improve the traffic situation in Nairobi, but will also address the issue of youth unemployment. Suppose we identify 300 hot spots, in addition to those major roundabouts where police officers are already deployed, and station 10 people per hot spot in rotation. This means that 3,000 jobs are created.

Let’s say the hourly wage is KSh. 150 and the total working hours per person is 40 hours per month. This means the monthly salary per person is KSh. 6,000. If we hire 3,000 youths, the total cost per month will be KSh. 18 million. This is big money. But if we consider the cost of petroleum, environmental damage, and the valuable time lost by the people trapped in the jam, this is a very cheap investment.

When I shared this idea with Eng. Michael Kamau, Cabinet Secretary for Transport and Infrastructure, I was encouraged to hear that he had a similar idea as mine.  I suggest to my Kenyan friends to try this for one or two years.

If the Government of Kenya, or Nairobi County Government, is willing to give it a try and come up with a concrete proposal, I am very happy to recommend to JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) to offer necessary technical cooperation.

I look forward to coming back to Kenya in the future, and it would be my great honour if my humble suggestion could make any positive contribution to this wonderful and promising country. Asanteni sana and Kwaherini.

-The writer is Ambassador of Japan to Kenya