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Public servants set for two shifts to ease city traffic jam


Public servants will soon work in two shifts in efforts aimed at decongesting cities that are being slowed down by traffic gridlock.

The Public Service ministry has written to all civil servants working and living in Nairobi to provide details of their areas of work and residence for the purposes of generating data that will help determine split working hours for public service.

“The Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs in collaboration with Nairobi Regeneration Area 5 Transport working Group-an intergovernmental/multiagency team is developing modalities of determining split working hours for public service,” an internal memo to all public servants working in Parliament reads in part.

NAIROBI REGENERATION

National Assembly director of administrative services Douglas Ng’ang’a says in a memo communicating the ministry’s directive that the exercise is part of the regeneration of Nairobi programme that President Uhuru Kenyatta launched recently.

The exercise aims to regulate “reporting and leaving time to and from work and ultimately decongesting Nairobi central business district (CBD) in order to promote ease of doing business,” said the ministry.

Civil servants work between 8am and 5pm during the 35-hour weekday schedule.

Public Service ministry did not offer details on the timelines of the expected shifts.

“In order for the ministry to make informed decisions, information in regard to the number of public servants in Nairobi and routes they normally use to and from work is required.

“In this regard, all staff are required to fill in the attached form to enable us to generate this data and forward it accordingly,” said Mr Ng’ang’a in the memo dated June 11.

He asked heads of directorates in Parliament to facilitate collection and collation of data from staff and forward the same to his office.

SELF-DRIVEN

Government employees based in Nairobi are required to state whether they are self-driven and the main route they normally travel to and from work namely Mombasa Road, Thika Road, Waiyaki Way, Ngong Road, Limuru Road, Lang’ata Road, Jogoo Road and Juja Road.

The team leading the Nairobi Regeneration Programme, which is governor Mike Sonko and Tourism secretary Najib Balala co-chair, comprises national and county leaders.

The team has since handed its report to President Kenyatta with various recommendations key among them the automation of bus terminal, launch of the Thika bus rapid transport and the setting up of the Nairobi traffic management committee to deal with gridlock.

The team also aims to launch car-free days in Nairobi and youth market days in the city’s 17 sub-counties.