Today all radio stations are warning Nairobi commuters about the traffic. It began yesterday with the imminent arrival of Barack Obama's number two Joe Biden. Add to that today he is meeting President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga while Parliament opens a new session - meaning everyone is texting each other "avoid town"!.
Then there is the massive road works project being undertaken throughout the country with the promise of making Kenya a super highway for domestic and cross-border trade. With the liberalisation of the market that has spawned a new generation of car dealer entrepreneurs whose used car imports cannot quench the market; this should have been the dream Kenya's Vision 2030 policy plan speaks of.
Alas that is not the case. Traffic jams have become the stock in trade. And the problem is not that one has to leave home before the crack of dawn just to get to work on time; but there is also the environmental problem with sub-standard cars jamming the streets spewing fumes to the detriment of the ozone layer.
Before the cry of Nairobi motorists was "those matatu drivers!". However today, even though matatu's still drive helter skelter, traffic jams still clog the streets.
Though it is commendable that the road work projects have the overall goal of reducing transport costs within Nairobi; for entrepreneurs the costs of being not just located in the Central Business District but now further afield in locales such as Westlands and Kilimani has meant that human traffic walk-in enterprises have had to readress their business models.
For the rest of us, we wonder what time we will get home today and what time tomorrow we have to wake up in order to get to work on time.
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