Kidero has done a lot despite paltry resources

Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero at Anniversary Towers in Nairobi on June 13,2016. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • When Evans Kidero was elected governor of Nairobi, part of his mandate was to bring a business-like approach to leadership to solve the county's challenges.

  • After years of neglect, this was never going to be achieved overnight.

Sixty per cent of Kenya’s national income and half of its labour force is found in Nairobi. Its population has grown from 300,000 in 1963 to nearly five million today, and is projected to increase to about 14 million people by 2050. The surface area that is the City of Nairobi will not change.

The defunct City Council which used to get Sh14.4 billion a year with 7,000 employees would spend Sh600 million on salaries while the county government is currently spending Sh1.1 billion monthly. Many commentaries have been penned by the media with regard to the County Government that are deficient of facts.

When Evans Kidero was elected governor of Nairobi, part of his mandate was to bring a business-like approach to leadership to solve Nairobi’s challenges. After years of neglect, this was never going to be achieved overnight. Dr Kidero inherited a huge debt portfolio. The new county government administration took charge of functions previously held by the National Government such as the provision of health care, early childhood education, agriculture, internal trade, co-operatives as well as the maintenance of local roads (in wards). In turn, the county government would receive an allocation of the share of national revenue to carry out the mandate.

The money being allocated now to the Nairobi City County is less than what the defunct City Council was receiving. The allocation does not begin to cater for the dire needs faced by the counties. Though the county governments are also expected to mobilise revenue from other sources within their counties, these do not amount to the money that is required to bridge the deficit in budget.

Despite this, Dr Kidero has had some achievements. Since 1973 when the last master plan was done, Nairobi has never had a strategic plan, or even an urban master plan. Only in May 2015 did Nairobi launch a new city master plan. This has formed the basis of an urban renewal plan of the Eastlands area. A total of 14 estates will be renovated.

Nairobi has allocated 27 per cent of the county budget towards the improvement of healthcare services. We now have maternity delivery units in seven healthcare units previously referred to as dispensaries in Ngara, Karen, Dandora, Riruta, Mathare North, Njiru and Mukuru Kwa Njenga. Mbagathi Hospital now has a 120 bed maternity ward with 20 incubators from virtually nothing when Dr Kidero took over. Also constructed within the hospital is a 112 body capacity mortuary with the state of the art embalming facility, where none was existent. Mutuini Hospital in Dagoretti South also has a 24 bed maternity facility, there was no maternity hospital before.

MAINTAIN ROADS

In infrastructure development, City Hall has so far used Sh2.7 billion since 2013 to repair and maintain roads, build bridges, install street lights and improve the drainage system. 1,300km of roads have been repaired, six bridges built, 2,000km of drains maintained and 25,000 new street lights installed considering we had 30,000 before. Work on other roads around the city is ongoing.

In the quest to light up the city and improve security, the county has been working through a joint project with Kenya Power and has installed 25,000 street lights in the past three years. More than 6,000 high mast floodlights have been installed in informal settlements, improving security by 50 per cent. As a result the crime rate in Nairobi has reduced. Plans to turn the Dandora dumpsite into a power plant and to rebuild the city’s aging water and sewerage system are at an advanced stage, as is the Eastlands’ urban regeneration.

Though primary school education is not a devolved function, the county has facilitated the expansion of schools. Olympic Primary can now comfortably host 1,600 pupils. Also built during these three years are Reuben Centre in Mukuru kwa Reuben, 36 classrooms, Marurui off Kiambu Road and St Elizabeth’s in Mukuru Kwa Njenga. Under construction are Mathare North Primary School, Marura School in Kariobangi and Muguga Green Primary School.

In trade, the county government is constructing several markets. The biggest is the largest fresh produce hub in Mowlem Ward on 47 acres. The hub will also have a food processing facility.

The county is planning the Phase I of the urban renewal project is set to begin before the end of 2016 and will construct new houses in place of old ones for about $2.9 billion. The estates that will be affected are Old and New Ngara, Pangani, Jeevanjee/Bachelors, Ngong Road Inspectorate staff quarters, Uhuru and Suna Road. Additional estates selected will be Bahati, Ziwani, Mbotela, Kaloleni, Jericho and Shauri Moyo, where old houses will be knocked down and redeveloped. The second phase will be managed in Eastlands where over 100,000 housing units will be built.

The volume of water produced has increased from 480,000 cubic metres to 600,000 cubic metres with the water supply connected and improved in areas where there was perennial shortage or no water at all such as Kahawa West, Nyayo Estate Embakasi, Mutuini, Umoja, South C among others. The county has also installed Automatic Water Dispensers in Mashimoni in Mathare, Kahawa-Soweto, Korogocho, Mukuru, Kiambio and Gituamba all serving a total of 19,500 families.

There is a lot more we need to do, but, what our city needs is more funding to get the job done and make sure that Nairobi can once again be proud to reclaim its slogan, “Green City in the Sun”.

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