After kicking out the Kenya Revenue Authority and NMS from controlling parking at the city centre, Nairobi County was supposed to introduce another parking system on September 2.
The move was immediately halted under unclear circumstances as the county said the rollout will be done at a later date.
But it is now emerging that the parking system is a hot issue that experts and some leaders in Nairobi say could have far-reaching implications if not handled well.
Robert Mbatia, the Kariobangi Ward MCA, who was chair of the Budget and Appropriations committee in the last assembly says the move could be a tall order.
"It is not by law that a system must be brought to the assembly but the assembly being an oversight arm of the county at one point there must be scrutiny to see the soundness of the system," Mbatia observed.
"Even just sending a communication to the assembly is healthy to say that we are changing the system from this to another even though it does not warrant being passed," he added.
According to the MCA, changing the parking system could be arduous because it is process that will take some time
However, Waithaka Ward Member Anthony Kiragu argues that the system falls under revenue, but agrees that the role of assembly is just oversight.
"We know the number of parking slots in the city and we have a Finance Bill that projects that how much we are going to get over a certain period."
Kiragu explains that as long as the system is within the budget it can be done, after which the platforms are contracted from where they are paid a commission.
During the regime of former Governor Mike Sonko, the county was using another system but they were taking around four per cent commission before KRA came in with theirs that used to take one per cent.
The leaders say in 2021 recorded a drop of Sh400 million in annual revenue. In the 2019/20 financial year, the county collected about Sh1.45 billion using another system.
Some members advise the new government to move cautiously saying the changes could open an avenue for cartels to take over and reap illegally from the parking slots in the city.
Among the perceived lucrative areas of interest include parking zones at Industrial Area, Parklands, loading zones in River Road and along car bazaars mostly along Ngong road.
"Before KRA and NMS came in, some people were pocketing millions through kickbacks, the parking system used before was not perfect as such," an official at the City Inspectorate department told The Standard.
A software and systems developer Patrick Soi agrees that such systems require time to develop.
"To collect maximum revenues, cameras could be installed along the zones so that those manning them at control rooms can tell the number of vehicles parked in a day," Soi added.
