Former Cooperatives minister Joseph Nyagah condemned Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i after the government controversially reinforced “Michuki rules” on Monday.
Nyagah, who helped coin the now famous “Michuki Rules”, accused the government of punishing Kenyans since the latest implementation of the rules was done abruptly.
“I am concerned that matatu owners are losing a lot of money, and travellers are greatly inconvenienced by the abrupt rules NTSA and the police are enforcing.” he told The Star.
He further added that it was unfair that the Interior Ministry together with that of Transport and NTSA reinforced the rules and greatly inconvenienced Kenyans.
This, he continued, led most commuters to part with higher fares than they would normally have paid, whereas, most were not able to reach their respective workplaces on time or at all.
The former minister, who helped the then Transport Minister John Michuki to develop the rules 15 years ago, claimed that the regulations had been ignored by the state for a long time.
He, however, still believed that if properly implemented, the rules would be a great tool of reducing accidents while maintaining sanity on Kenyan roads.
The former minister further advised Matiang’i and his Transport counterpart James Macharia to suspend the crackdown.
He also blamed the state for not properly enforcing the rules as earlier intended which then led to the rampancy the industry experiences today.
Due to the failure, he, therefore, advised the ministries concerned to give matatu owners enough time to comply with their demands.
