Fuel shortage, a wake up call for planners

The time spent waiting for fuel translated to thousands of lost man-hours. [File, Satndard]

The recent fuel shortage ought to have served as a learning point and wake-up call for economic and infrastructure planners in government given the inconveniences workers had to endure either because they could not get to work or had to spend long hours waiting to buy fuel.

The time spent waiting for fuel translated to thousands of lost man-hours, occasioning a prolonged downtime in economic production given the idle manpower capacity that was unutilised in those three weeks of shortages. Yet, if one had looked and listened carefully over the last two years or so, one would have picked up the dim signal sent out by technology and logistics start-ups that have been introducing electric bicycles and motorcycles in the Kenyan market at worker-friendly prices for both purchasing and leasing.