Kenya’s capital, Nairobi has a new boss in the form of Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko.

Sonko’s political career is one of those that should probably be part of discussions in university lecturer rooms where political science is taught. A few years back, I used to entertain myself by looking for video clips of Sonko punching walls and rolling on the Nairobi streets.

Fast forward to the last half of 2017 and Sonko no longer has tinted hair, the multiple rings are gone. He is now a sharp dresser keen on replicating his personal transformation onto the streets of Nairobi.

During the recent swearing in ceremony of Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, Sonko travelled with President Kenyatta and a note book.

He has promised to make Nairobi the cleanest city and Kigali is a good place to start such a journey. With the recent ban on plastic bags, Nairobi may not be so far from its ambitions under Governor Sonko.  Now there is talk of banning Matatus from the central business district of Nairobi.

Here in Kigali a story on the improvement of public transport ended up being reported as a plan to ban private cars from the city. The Kigali story even got to a point where some were talking of banning Taxi Motos (boda bodas). Uganda has toyed with banning plastic bags while the Kampala city authorities have tried to ban hawkers and even boda bodas from the city centre.

If you asked me, what really needs to be banned is the use of the word ban. I am starting to feel like city authorities love the word ban because it is coated with power. The thrill of executing an order and watching the world bend to your will. Many of these bans are fought because everyone wants to show they are powerful.

Phasing out is better in my view. Study an issue comprehensively and see how to roll out a development. Plastic bags can be phased out by starting with those who make them, then moving to controlling entry points just like how those entering Rwanda are checked to make sure plastic bags are not being smuggled in.

Empowering those in the business of making paper bags and other recyclable bags for carrying one’s shopping, maybe through tax incentives would be a move in the right direction.

In cities where small commuter taxis are no longer tenable (Kampala is a good example), you can start by offering incentives to those importing bigger capacity buses while shutting down the processes of licensing small matatus. Allow wear and tear to gradually phase out the small matatus as the bigger ones gradually take their place and ease movement in the city.

In all this, we have to keep studying every aspect to understand the cause – effect relationship before rushing to ban anything. Instead of rushing to ban Matatus from the CBD, how about we improve on public transport while making it more expensive for one to bring a private car to the city centre by limiting street parking at certain times or days.  Instead of banning boda bodas we can start by having dedicated lanes for public transport buses during rush hour so they do not waste time in traffic.

In some places like Kampala, using a boda boda is basically a lethal extreme sport that we would rather avoid if sitting in a commuter taxi didn’t mean spending hours stuck in traffic inhaling diesel fumes. The same goes for those driving private cars to commute to work, it is stressful but some prefer that to a disorganised public transport system.

These cities are for all of us, they harbour the dreams and hopes for so many. We should aim at making them work for all of us.

Those responsible for city planning need to find time to step out of their air conditioned fuel guzzlers to study and understand how cities function before making rushed pronouncements.

With better understanding of some of these things, we can implement smooth plans to phase out the problems and roll out the solutions instead of assuming they can be switched on or off just like that.