High cost of living now hits public washrooms in Nakuru city
Some of the public washrooms in Nakuru have increased their rates from Sh 10 to Sh 15.
As the cost of living in Kenya continues to shift upwards, the humble washroom has now become the unexpected battleground for economic disruption.
In Nakuru city, the once affordable entry fee of Sh 10 has moved up to Sh 15 leaving most restroom goers surprised by the abrupt change of price, as they are left in a dilemma, torn between the call of nature and the toll on their pocket change.
The topic of the week has slightly diverted from the usual political banter to the abrupt surge in toilet prices, a subject that has everyone in disbelief.
Places in Nakuru affected with these new price are; the public toilets near former Coco Savanna, Biashara Center and Prime plaza.
Managers at Biashara and Prime say the price from today, Thursday, will be Sh 20.
A spot check at some of the public washrooms showed that they had attempted to erase the poster after people ranting about the new price notice of Sh 15.
A public washroom that cancelled out the new rate after public outcry in Nakuru city on January 31, 2024.
One of the business people at Biashara centre, Joel Kamau expresses, “Is it food that we will eat, or paying for a washroom? That is the same price as that of chapati in local hotels,” he states angrily.
Talking to Mwangi Githae, one of the toilet owners, he says one of the things that have informed the price hike is the price of tissue paper.
“The toilet roll price that we would get at Sh 220 now goes for Sh 250. The money we are paying to those who bring us water has also increased.”
Having a chit chat with another public washroom manager who only wants to be identified as Mark*, he discloses that he had to drop the price from Sh 15 to Sh 10, when he noticed he was losing customers.
“The men in particular are the ones who have complained the most. Majority want to pay as little as Sh 5. We understand that the economy is bad, but we are also in business,” Mark* smirks.
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