Bottlenecks: why It's more than just bottles

A bottle against a beach in Accra, Ghana. [XN Iraki]

A bottle is known for its narrow neck. That restricts the flow of the liquid, be it water, wine or perfume. The narrowing “preserves” the content.

The liquid is not exposed to too much air or dust. Noted if the bottle topples, you can easily save the liquid. The bottle designers deliberately slowed down the outflow of the liquid for a good reason. 

Curiously the term bottleneck was originally positive, from the point of view of the designers and the users. But in popular use, it’s negative. Let’s give a few examples.  Thika Superhighway and the Nairobi Expressway are touted as engineering marvels. Both have bottlenecks. For Thika Road, it’s at Pangani. Since 2012, through three presidents, a bottleneck has choked this road.

Cars from Muthaiga, Kiambu, Thika and Outer Ring Road converge into a bottleneck that can last till mid-day. In the evening the same bottleneck returns with cars trying to leave the city through Muranga Road, Forest Road and Juja Road. 

And there seems to be no concerted effort to remove the bottleneck. How do you get from Kiambu Road to Wangari Maathai (Forest Road)?

You have to cut through traffic from the far left of the road to the far right within a space of about 200 metres. 

Museum Hill

Joining the Thika Superhighway from the expressway is another bottleneck. You join fast cars on Uhuru Highway then separate after 200 metres. And why can’t I join the expressway from Thika Road at Museum Hill? 

Bumps are other bottlenecks. Noted new ones on Waiyaki Way near Nairobi School?

Yet two potholes 200 metres away have been there for months as you drive towards Kangemi. 

Road bottlenecks are easier to note. But there are other bottlenecks that slow down the delivery of services and the economy by extension.

You have encountered many in your workplace or when seeking government services. Such bottlenecks are often corruption conduits.

Ever wondered how much time is wasted every day through police stops? And they normally stop commercial vehicles; matatus, pickups and lorries. Rarely leisure drivers. On Thika Road, they target service lanes.

One other bottleneck is indecision. That holds back everything and everyone. It’s common in the public sector. Some people think removing bottlenecks means losing power. Yet one sign of modernism is the relentless removal of bottlenecks in the delivery of services.

Think of the bottlenecks M-Pesa removed. What bottlenecks do we need to remove in your sector? Are you a victim or perpetrator of bottlenecks? Talk to us.