Kidero asks top officials to resign

The jobs of three senior officers at City Hall are on the line as the war on ending the garbage menace continues.

In a recent email to acting County Secretary Gregory Mwakanongo, acting Finance Chief Officer Luke Gatimu and his Treasury counterpart Morris Okere, Governor Evans Kidero asked them to resign.

“Gregory, Gatimu and Okere, please do me a favour by resigning before the end of the week,” part of the email read.

There are reports that the three have been secretly engaging garbage collectors to sabotage Mr Kidero’s administration.

Garbage collectors have been on a go-slow for weeks now, protesting delayed payments.

“You can resign so that people who are interested in serving Nairobi are given the opportunity,” Governor Kidero added.

The email was copied to Deputy Governor Jonathan Mweke, Chief of Staff George Wainaina and all executives.

The officials immediately engaged the National Youth Service to take over from the private garbage collectors.

The governor had earlier issued a directive to release funds to the NYS director-general’s office for hire of machinery and fuel but the top officials were reluctant to effect it.

City Hall has also been in the media, heaping blame on El Niño rains as garbage continues to pile in many parts of Nairobi, including streets in the city centre.

Mr Samuel Ndungu, the County Operations Manager in charge of solid waste said the rains were to blame since roads to the Dandora dumpsite were in a bad state.

Other departments were not spared too.

FALSE ALLEGATIONS
Governor Kidero is keen to dismantle a group running the Urban Planning department.

“He wants to send home Planning Executive Tom Odongo, Chief Officer Rose Muema and head of enforcement Justus Kathenge,” a senior official who demanded anonymity said.

Meanwhile, officers in the Finance department have denied sabotaging the devolved government by not paying trash collectors in time.

The department said the contractors had received their money and claims of delayed payments were false and malicious.

The officials said the reports were from people out to see them dismissed from their jobs.

“The governor gave us an opportunity to serve city residents and we appreciate that. We have not done anything wrong or attempted to sabotage him. Let him pardon us if we have done anything wrong,” one officer who requested anonymity said.

Another refuted claims that they had been told to resign.

“The governor only asked us to hasten any withheld payments and we paid Sh800,000 to Foton Motors to repair their broken down vehicles,” he said.

Members of the County Assembly joined the row and blamed Environment Chief Officer Leah Oyake for only approving payments to companies she was friendly to.

“The finance team pays what she has approved. She has been sabotaging Governor Kidero by approving payments to her cronies only,” said the assembly Chairman of the Environment Committee Peter Imwatok who is also the Makongeni Ward Representative.