We are working towards restoring Nairobi city

Recently, Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero and other senior officials attended a breakfast roundtable session hosted by the Kenya Association of Manufacturers to foster better collaboration and partnership between businesses and the county government.

Issues discussed revolved around high-handedness of the city inspectorate in dealing with businesspeople, uncontrolled hawking within the central business district, traffic congestion, presence of street families, garbage collection, illegal structures and encroachment. They initially seemed agitated by the issues raised but, after discussions with various officers, they came to a better understanding.

Discipline of the workforce and city inspectorate officers

There were complaints of harassment and extortion by inspectorate officers. They felt the frequency of inspection visits by the officers and the way they handled business people was uncalled-for. The county government has initiated a culture change programme to better handle the attitudes and issues faced.

Mistreatment

The new administration is inculcating new ways of interaction within the organisation and with the citizens. The training involves re-engineering attitudes and dealing with the public and business people in a respectable and civil manner. New uniforms will be unveiled to help change perceptions. The rebranding will change the menacing and fearsome image to a more welcoming and compelling one.

Uncontrolled hawking

Nairobi, like other major cities, has faced rapid urbanisation and increase in population. Nairobi hosts five million people by day and four million by night. Approximately one million people a day travel into the city and leave at the end of the working day. This population is a ready business target for any aspiring businessperson. Many people enter street vending or hawking because they cannot find a job in the formal economy. The proliferation of the number of people leaving our universities, those being retrenched from formal employment and those retiring has compounded the need for an alternative source of income leading to the irregular use of open spaces.

We understand these pressures and need for citizens to earn a living. City street corners cannot be turned into trading locations yet we have areas that have been designated for this.

Though these vendors see it as their right to be on the street, the government has to think of the inconvenience and loss of business they are causing shop owners when they sell the exact product right outside their shops and obstruct entryways.

We are grappling with the issue of corruption and selective negligence on the part of some of our officers who harass and extort from traders. It is why early last month seven senior members of the enforcement team were interdicted for abetting the lawlessness, disorder, wanton garbage dumping, illegal use of parking bays, obstruction by boda boda riders and hawkers in the CBD.

Irregular single business permit inspections

It was agreed there would be a better way of inspection by reducing the number of teams that visit the premises. The county government will form a single inspection unit to handle all inspections whether in health, business, fire or liquor.

Water rationing and outdated water and sewerage infrastructure

A new master plan has been completed and is being implemented. Two pipelines are currently being laid down from Kabete to Ole-Sereni (Mombasa Road) exchange and another from Kiambu Road through Dandora, Baraka to Embakasi Airport. This is expected to improve the water supply by 50,000m3. The design works for the sewerage expansion at a cost of Sh11.5 billion has been completed.

Traffic congestion and road infrastructure

This is one of the major results of rapid urbanisation. About 1,300km have been repaired, six bridges built and 2000km of drains maintained. Within one month, the construction of public transport facilities outside the CBD will have been completed. Areas affected will be Ngara, Desai Road, Muthurwa and within the Estates of Baba Dogo, Riruta, South C and Kibera. The process of reviewing gazetted public service terminus and picking points will be implemented soon. Consideration of the diametric routing to eliminate PSVs hoarding space in the CBD is under process. Feasibility studies for the bus rapid transport have been completed.

Dr Robert Ayisi is the county secretary of Nairobi City County.