The government now says it hopes to strike a deal with Matatu Operators by Friday in an effort to end the ongoing standoff over high fuel prices.
Speaking during an interview on Hot96 on Wednesday evening, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja expressed confidence that talks between the government and transport stakeholders were moving in the right direction.
“You should hear something by Saturday… actually Friday,” Sakaja said.
The discussions come days after matatu operators, long-distance bus companies, truck drivers, digital taxi operators and ride-hailing drivers staged protests over the rising cost of fuel.
The demonstrations disrupted transport services in parts of the country on Monday and Tuesday, with operators saying fuel prices had become too expensive to sustain their businesses.
Previous discussions between the two parties had failed to come up with an agreement following the reduction of diesel prices by KSh10.06 per litre by the government.
The new prices set by EPRA saw diesel prices in Nairobi reduced to KSh232.86 per litre from the initial price of KSh242.92 per litre.
On the other hand, Super Petrol maintained its price, which was still KSh214.25 per litre, but the price of kerosene increased dramatically from KSh152.78 to KSh191.38 per litre.
After holding further discussions on Tuesday, the two parties have decided to suspend the demonstrations for a period of one week to allow further negotiations to take place.
According to Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen, both the government and transport stakeholders were convinced about the need for further consultations to arrive at the final position.
Also, Sakaja suggested that the government should think about capping fuel prices to ease the financial burden of the public and other entities.
“Fuel should not exceed a certain amount,” he added, noting that a steady pricing model would enable wananchi to cope easily with any increase in prices.
With a one-week suspension in protest activities, pressure still mounts on the government to settle the issue in the interest of the transport operators.