Cabinet approves move to replace traffic police in Nairobi
The Cabinet has approved the use of the Nairobi Intelligent Transport System (ITS) in a bid to approve the frequent vehicle traffic in the City.
A Cabinet meeting chaired by President William Ruto on February 14, 2024, resolved to implement the technology as an upgrade from the traffic police and traffic marshals, commonly referred to as Kanjo, employed by the Nairobi County government.
“Cabinet approved the implementation of the Nairobi Intelligent Transport System (ITS) Establishment and Junction Improvement Project. The Phase III of this seminal project is expected to revolutionise traffic management in Kenya, eliminating human interfaces in traffic control, and streamlining the payment of penalties for traffic offences,” the dispatch reads.
Cabinet explained the move to introduce technology had been prompted by the uniqueness of Nairobi as the Capital city, the home of various high-level international meetings.
The advanced system will also provide information relating to vehicle movement and aid in the summoning of emergency services whenever the need arises.
The moves come against the backdrop of unsuccessful efforts from both the county government and the national government to try to decongest the city.
President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration settled on the construction of the Green Park Terminus in a bid to decongest traffic by directing public service vehicles outside the central business district (CBD).
That did not work.
The Cabinet despatch stressed the need to position Nairobi as the preeminent destination for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE), boosted by the recently implemented Visa-Free entry.
The Cabinet has also considered and endorsed the hosting of regional, continental, and global conventions/meetings in the capital.
Some of the meetings set to be hosted in Kenya in 2024 include the Sixth Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6), the African Minerals Geosciences Centre (AMGC) Policy Organ Meeting, the Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre (GIEC) events organized in collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union and the Network of Africa Data Protection Authorities (NADPA) Conference, 2024.
The Cabinet further considered various Bills, Policies, Treaties, Conventions, and Agreements to anchor the implementation of various State Programmes and Projects as set out under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
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