Nairobi Metropolitan minister Mutula Kilonzo is a man of vision. He sees a city that will equal few others in the world in the long term.

However, there is danger that in the short term, such vistas will increasingly be mistaken for the products of tunnel vision.

Why so? Every other week, the minister comes up with some startling plan to make Nairobi the envy of other countries: a metropolis of helipads, special lanes for VIPs, multi-million shilling beautification projects, and one with more space for pedestrians.

It is our feeling that the minister has opted to start at the top, with the result that four months down the line, nothing significant has happened on the ground.

The city is more congested than ever, and though pedestrians can now walk more freely due to the disappearance of hawkers and street families, there is still no parking space, and traffic jams have become a real nightmare.

Shouldn't we be thinking about increasing the number of parking bays in the short run and less about pampering the elite?

What is the point of alienating 290 slots so that flowers can be planted, and then telling private motorists to leave their vehicles in the suburbs and take buses to the city centre?

Wouldn't it be more prudent to create parking bays on the outskirts first, provide adequate security, for the private vehicles left behind, and put in place an efficient transit bus system?

Mr Minister, vision has to be tempered with reality.

Let's hear less about grandiose plans for the future and more on how our lives can be made more bearable in the capital city now.