Nyeri County Government has floated balloting for 600 stalls at the Field Marshal Muthoni Kirima bus terminus. A notice put up in one of the local dailies has slated July 17 this year as the date for the balloting.
The county administration says it arrived at the decision after the public presented this as the most ideal method of allocating the stalls. A total of 2,000 businesspersons had applied for the spaces on July 21 2023.
“After wide consultations with the majority of stakeholders, it was found that the best method of allocation of these trading spaces is through open balloting which is fair and transparent. This is therefore to notify all traders who applied for the trading spaces that balloting will be conducted on Wednesday 21, July 2024 at Nyeri, Kamukunji grounds along temple road from 8.00 am to 5.pm,”reads part of the notice by the Department of Trade, Co-operatives, Culture and Tourism.
Applicants have also been directed to cross check their details at the Department of Trade offices during working hours beginning July 1 to July 9, 2024.
One can also log into the county’s website www.nyeri.go.ke or check their details at the Field Marshal Muthoni Kirima bus terminus noticeboard.
Lands and Physical Planning CEC Ndirangu Gachunia told KNA that once the balloting is complete, successful candidates will be given two weeks to paint their stalls before they can open them for business.
The officer also clarified that the long awaited relocation of Public Service Vehicles will also be carried out once the issue of balloting has been settled.
“We had almost 2,000 applicants who wanted to be allocated stalls at the Field Marshall Muthoni Kirima. Unfortunately, only a fraction of them can get these stalls. We also want to embark on moving Public Service Vehicles from the main stage in the town CBD to the new market since it is more spacious and will therefore help address the challenge of traffic gridlocked that has been the eyesore at our current terminus” he said.
“Nevertheless, to avoid a fall out while undertaking relocation, we shall have to talk and negotiate with stakeholders in the transport sector and come up with an agreement on how to move forward,” he said.
The Field Marshal Muthoni Kirima bus terminus was expected to address the challenge of endless traffic gridlocks in Nyeri town that end up inconveniencing commuters in wasted man-hours.
While announcing a mini-reshuffle in his government in 2022 Governor Mutahi Kahiga had directed the then Lands Chief Officer Ms Beatrice Koech to ensure there was a speedy relocation of traders and PSV matatus from the old terminal to the new bus park.
Kahiga had pointed out that the relocation to the new bus park was a critical project that needed to be undertaken as a matter of urgency.
“The Asian quarter’s bus park (now Field Marshal Muthoni Kirima) is the next major thing on the desk. The completion and transfer of the existing bus stages and traders to the new park must be given priority and dealt with expeditiously while ensuring a smooth and efficient roll over,” he had told reporters.
The terminus whose construction began in 2019 at a cost of Sh 700 million was implemented in two phases by the Nyeri Town Municipality Board.
It was financed under the Kenya Urban Support Programme; a World Bank initiative whose objective is to spur economic development in counties through improved physical infrastructure development.
The facility features 240 matatu, bus, taxi and tuk-tuk bays, 1,000 booking offices, 40 parking bays and 98 passenger waiting bays.
In addition, the park hosts 1,000 business stalls, five sanitation blocks, high level water tanks and a modern solid waste chamber.
By Samuel Maina
