This is What Thika People said About Baba Yao’s “Crazy One-Touch” Solutions.

From Top Left: the traffic jam menace that has been the order of the day along Haile Selassie Rd. Top Right: Heavy machinery that embarked on clearing way for an extra exit near the Blue Post bridge. Bottom Left: Ferdinand Waititu giving instructions to the workers during the exercise. Bottom Right: The first vehicles to do a test drive on the exit to ascertain its condition. 

Even before the dust has fully settled, Jubilee Party’s Kiambu gubernatorial flag bearer Ferdinand Waititu (Baba Yao) has already hit the ground running with a ‘mega’ project in Thika Town.

Starting today, Tuesday 9^th May, Team United for Kiambu (U4K) led by Waititu, his proposed gubernatorial deputy Dr. James Nyoro and businessman Rev. David Kariuki Ngare (Gakuyo) kicked off the construction of the Haile Selassie Rd. exit near the Blue post bridge to try and address the traffic jam menace that has been a pain in the back for Thika residents for ages.

Speaking to journalists during the exercise, Waititu said that his team believed in action and it was for the same reason that they had decided to, first, come up with a temporary short-term solution to the problem before they embarked on a major and comprehensive solution to the same.

“The people of Thika do not have to wait until we make some massive investment in order for them to enjoy doing business in this town. We are therefore, starting from tomorrow (May 9^th 2017), going to temporarily clear this bush and create a road that will ease the traffic snarl-up getting out of town. 

(Related story:  Shah Community, KCG To Expand Chania Bridge To A Tune Of 200m.)

This exit does not need a bridge but will serve a great deal before we embark on expanding this bridge to open up vehicles getting in and out of Thika from Murang’a County,” said Waititu.

As a businessman in the area for about two decades, Rev. Gakuyo acknowledged the relief of the resident upon the opening of the exit route. He pointed out that this was just one of the temporary measures that they were going to undertake adding that they would also seek ways to open up the Gatitu-Garissa Rd. junction on Kenyatta Highway.

“This bridge was erected in the early 1930s and has never been improved. Unfortunately, the defunct Municipal Council of Thika built a footbridge here instead of first addressing the problem of traffic gridlocks that has affected businesses here. Other than this exit, we are going to look on possible ways to open up Kenyatta Highway, including the by-pass linking Thika Superhighway and Garissa 

Rd. near the former Castle Breweries yard,” said Rev. Gakuyo.

Dr. Nyoro argued that though to some people their remedy might not have been the best at the moment, all what the residents of Thika needed was a fast and easy solution to the gridlock problem as they worked on the permanent cure.

“If your latrine at home collapses, will you wait until you can put up a permanent structure or will you, as a matter of urgency, first erect a temporary one for people to use as you plan for a good one? Ours here is to first ease the burden as we work out on permanent solutions to our challenges,” said Dr. Nyoro.

People’s reaction.

Kenya Mpya Bus Company Ltd’s operations manager Mr. Wamaringa could not hide his joy after witnessing this new approach to problem tackling by the new team. He said that by opening up these exits, the transport business will be greatly enhanced thus assist them improve services to the people of Thika and increase trade.

“As a bus company, we cannot hide our joy as this will ease our work. In fact, we are planning to increase our fleet of buses to 300 and initiatives like this will be of great help to us and other business people in this area,” said Wamaringa.

The same sentiments were expressed by the leadership of ISCA and Manchester matatu Saccos who said that they have been fighting for such a programme for the last four years without any forthcoming solution.

(See Also: This Is Our Agenda For Kiambu County, Team Waititu Tell A Mammoth Rally In Thika.)

Businessman Dr. Dominic Gachanja was amazed to see a problem that had been nagging them being resolved in one day. Otherwise, he hoped that this team will continue solving problems facing Kiambu residents via the same zeal.

“If this team is going to execute their mandate in this way, I can foresee a very prosperous Kiambu in the very near future,” said Dr. Gachanja.