Nairobi County gov't announces free parking on Saturdays until June

The Nairobi County government has announced a six-month temporary waiver of parking fees for private motorists on Saturdays.

Nairobi County Executive Committee Member for Finance and Economic Planning Charles Kerich made the announcement via a gazette notice dated December 1, 2023, highlighting that the exemption will run until the end of June this year.

"In exercise of the powers conferred by section 5 (2) (a) of the Nairobi City County Tax Waivers Administration Act, 2013, the County Executive Committee Member for Finance and Economic Planning in concurrence with the Governor, Nairobi City County, waives parking fees for all private motorist in Nairobi on Saturdays until 30th June, 2024," reads the notice.

News of the waiver comes almost two months after the Nairobi County government increased parking fees across the city following the assenting of Governor Johnson Sakaja’s Finance Bill, 2023 in a bid to raise Ksh.42.3 billion in the 2023/24 financial year.

Governor Sakaja's administration increased daily, monthly and annual fees for parking spots in Zone I and Zone II.

Zone I parking spots include the CBD, Kijabe Street, Westlands, Upper Hill, Community, Ngara, Highridge, Industrial area, Gigiri, Kilimani, Yaya Centre, Milimani, Hurlingham, Lavington, Karen, Eastleigh, Muthaiga, Gikomba and Nairobi West.

Zone II areas include on-street parking at commercial centres, and any county market parking that is not included in Zone I.

In Zone I areas, such as the CBD, daily parking fees for saloon cars jumped from Ksh.200 to Ksh.300, while charges for vans and pickups surged by Ksh.300 to Ksh.500.

Parking fees for lorries/minibuses weighing up to 5 tonnes doubled from Ksh.1,000 to Ksh.2,000, while rates for lorries above 5 tons increased to Ksh.3,000 from the initial Ksh.1,000.

Non-PSV bus parking fees however remained the same at Ksh.1,000 while trailer parking fees jumped from Ksh.3,000 to Ksh.3,500.