Governor Sonko wants to hike Nairobi parking fees

Motorists in Nairobi could be forced to dig deeper into their pockets following a proposal by the county government to raise parking fees in the city centre beginning next month.

Governor Mike Sonko’s administration proposes to raise the parking fees from the current Ksh.300 to Ksh.400 as part of the county’s measures to raise more revenue to finance its 2018/2019 budget of Ksh.34 billion.

The proposal is contained in the County’s Revised 2018/19 Finance Bill which was tabled before the County Budget and Appropriations Committee on Monday. The bill is set to be debated by the county assembly which will either pass or shoot it down.

If the Bill is passed, trailers will be required to pay Ksh.6, 000 for parking and offloading, lorries Ksh.4,000 and canters Ksh.2,000.

Boda bodas operating from the Central Business District will be required to pay a monthly fee of Ksh.1,000 each.

Tuk tuks operating outside the city centre will be required to part with Ksh.1,500 monthly, while matatus wishing to reserve space in the CBD will pay Ksh.250,000 per year.

The Nairobi County Government is also seeking to raise more revenue by introducing a new garbage collection fee of Ksh.100 for residents in slum areas.

If the bill is passed, residents of middle-income estates will be required to pay Ksh.300 per month for garbage collection while those in the upmarket estates will part with Ksh.500 for garbage collection.