News:
According to the people of Kenya, as the festive season set in last December, “thousands of Nairobians packed off to their rural homes to celebrate the season with extended family and friends. Others who could afford it headed to the Coastal City of Mombasa to cool off after what, in many ways, was a dramatic year. Getting out of the city around Christmas is a tradition many follow strictly. It is one of those habits which make us ‘Kenyan’. Christmas is a tradition many follow strictly. It is one of those habits which make us ‘Kenyan’.” Thankfully, this is the only time in the year when the city is freed of its depressing traffic jams and the hustle and bustle dies down. It is also the only time when I am reminded that Ongata Rongai, better known in some circles as ‘Diaspora’, is actually 30 minutes to Nairobi and not the debilitating two hours we are used to. (Source: Standard)
Comment:
It is now undoubtedly clear that all the developed, developing and the third world countries have failed in all their attempts to solve the ever increasing traffic jams on their roads that turns our roads into showrooms every morning and evening and mostly in these festive seasons. This traffic jam is costing not only the Kenyan government but the entire world, billions of dollars every year.
This is an expected tragedy in the capitalist system where the problems are addressed under the main criteria of benefit for the few and not solving the citizen’s problems. The following are the causes of traffic jams in the capitalist system and how the Khilafah will deal with them.
– Almost all capitalist governments invest most of their resources in the cities alone and abandoning the rural areas, this leads to most rural dwellers moving to the cities in looking for better opportunities e.g. jobs, better education and health facilities, formal documents and thus resulting to overpopulation within cities. This leads to more people using the same road which leads to traffic jams. The Khilafah will invest in both the rural areas and the cities in order to make sure that every citizen’s need is taken care of at their place that is close to them.
– The working policies of almost 90% of the employees of these companies is reporting to work at 8:00 am and leaving their work places at 5:00 pm. This means that the only time that people are on the road is 8am and 5pm, that’s why you will hardly see any traffic jams during lunch hours.
The working policies of the Khilafah government will be 8hrs in a 24hr working conditions. This will enable only few people being on the road at different times of the same day.
– The individualistic nature of the capitalist system making each and everyone wanting to own a car and not sharing. 20 employees working in the same company and living in the same estate use 20 different cars to go to the same place and back. If they could use only one or two cars to work, then this will reduce the congestions on the roads. The Khilafah Government is based on brotherhood and helping one another thus leading to many people sharing the same cars to work.
– The belittling of some professions in the Capitalist system like farming makes most people avoid farming and moving to the cities for white-collar jobs. That is why it is easy in this Government to have a workers day and a farmers day, making an impression that farming is not work and so most people leave it for other jobs which cannot be found in the rural areas. Citizens of the Khilafah will be helped to acquire land and be provided with seeds and fertilizers in order to venture into farming and other handy works that can be found in the rural areas.
-The standard of education in the public and private schools with in Secular Governments differ greatly, there is a total failure to compete with the private sector in education and so most parents avoid taking their kids to public school close to them where they can walk. This causes students to use the same cars going and coming back from schools at 8am and 5pm thus increasing the number of road users.
-The capitalist governments have monopolized their technology to few rich people who sell their products like aircrafts, boats, cars and motor vehicles at a very expensive rate making a bigger percentage of people not being able to afford them. If these products like motor vehicles, boats and aircraft were cheap, then instead of everyone using the road, some would use the sea, air and pavements to get to where they are going thus reducing the congestion on the road.
-Some employees live close to their work place but due to the ever increasing insecurity, then most employees prefer to use the buses instead of walking to avoid being robbed on their way home. The brotherhood in the Khilafah will automatically bring peace which will make those who live close to their work place walk instead of using the buses.
-The ever-increasing number of single mothers in the country also makes the women who instead of staying at home to take care of their young ones, are forced to go work in order to take care of their kids. This adds up the number of people using the buses on the roads which eventually leads to traffic jams on our roads.
The only system that will eradicate this menace is the Khilafah government whose main aim will be to take care of the affairs of its people and not benefit as the capitalist system do.
Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Bakari Mohamed
Member of Hizb ut Tahrir in East Africa