Issues Governor Sakaja Must Address After Taking Nairobi County

Nairobi governor, Johnson Sakaja, now has a huge plate of problems waiting for him as he begins his official duties following his swearing-in on Thursday, August 25. 

Speaking shortly after taking the oath of office, Sakaja affirmed that the time for politics was done and that the real work of building Nairobi County begins. He added that despite a rough road ahead, he was confident that it will work.

“It has been a long journey but together we can make Nairobi work together, time for politics is over, we will work with everyone to take the county forward,” Sakaja said.

Sakaja promised to make Nairobi a city whereby its residents can do business throughout, no matter which one it is, as well as a city where everyone can live in without disruptions.

President-elect, William Ruto at Johnson Sakaja's swearing-in as Nairobi Governor on August 25, 2022. /TWITTER

“Days of coming home to demolished houses in Nairobi are over. Days for hawkers being chased and harassed as they try to make a living are over,” he said.

“We want Nairobi to be always open for business 24/7, where the playing ground is fair."

But those aren't the only tasks Nairobi residents will expect him to address. Viral Tea looks at what lies ahead of Sakaja as he starts executing his mandate.

Garbage

Sakaja's main challenge will be working on ways to combat the elephant in the room, garbage disposal, which has seen even several shortcuts preferred by residents in the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD) turned into dumpsites where heaps of uncollected garbage are the order of the day.

The outgoing Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) disclosed that there is no proper waste collection plan yet the city generates 2,400 tonnes of solid waste daily. The nauseating affair is not limited to the city, but to its residential outskirts.

Commuters have been all too familiar with the stench that hits them every day they wake up, emanating from garbage with litter bins overflowing with trash to others turned upside down, spilling garbage. This includes decomposing waste, paper, plastic, water bottles, clothing, shredded paper and office waste.

It is even worse when one considers collapsed sewerage and drainage lines, that is, a burst raw sewer and clogged drainage systems rule informal settlements in every square inch someone walks. Locals have additionally resorted to flying toilets and open defecation since households are not connected to sewer lines.

Water Shortage

Not a day or week goes by without a notice from the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company Limited (NCWSC) warning Nairobi residents of water disruptions across a number of estates and the city itself.

Residents who spoke to Viral Tea revealed that they complain of frequent and sometimes long periods of rationing water, arguably the most basic need of every home. As aforementioned, the sewerage coupled with the improper disposal of waste has cast doubts on some of them regarding if the water is safe for domestic use, especially in informal settlements.

"All we want is clean water and for the governor-elect to sort out the water problem once and for all," one of the residents lamented to Viral Tea.

According to them, the county government should have sunk boreholes all over the city to ensure abundant flow of water so that residents can live comfortably.

Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS)

One of Sakaja's premium problems will be guiding Nairobi County from the control of the NMS, whose director-general, Mohammed Badi revealed in the ceremony that it was ready to hand back to the government all the 14 functions.

"NMS was created for a specific mandate and I'm very happy to report that it has accomplished all the tasks given to do within the two years. In the extra tasks that we have taken on board which are ongoing projects, I am more than happy to hand over, I know you will make this great county prosper.

"We will start the process of handing over from next week," he announced.

The NMS has been Sakaja's biggest headache prior to his election as governor, but he has been appreciative of the work it has done in the two years it has been in power, restoring the city to its status as one of East Africa's top destinations.

“There is what has succeeded and there is what has failed. They have built hospitals which we now need to equip, they have built cabros in our streets, and they have also dug several boreholes,” he said previously.

NMS was formed on March 9, 2020, following an agreement that led to the transfer of four core functions from the Nairobi City County Government to the National Government. By the time of its takeover, former governor Mike Sonko was in charge, and was impeached in December 2020, a course Sakaja will want to avoid.

Security & Crime

Sakaja will have to tackle the matter of security in the city, which has turned the city into a danger zone in terms of crimes reported in the county.

Data from the Economic Survey 2021 showed that three counties accounted for over a quarter of the 81,272 crimes reported last year. Nairobi topped the list with 6,686 crimes followed by the neighbouring Kiambu County at 5,715 and Meru third with 5,032.

The total number of crimes like robberies, muggings, rape and homicides reported at police stations rose by 16.6 per cent from 2020 amid tough economic times characterised by job losses, low number of employment opportunities and an increase in the cost of living, all aggravated by COVID-19.

Matatu Menace & Cartels

A surge in the number of undesignated matatu pick-up and drop-off points in the city has been a recipe for chaos. 

In the Nairobi CBD for instance, Tom Mboya Street, all the way from Afya Centre to the Koja stage, parts of Mama Ngina Street, Moi Avenue and Ronald Ngala Street have been seized by rogue matatu operators. In simple terms, there is a matatu stage every approximately 40 to 50 feet you walk in the city.

The problem has expanded from the city centre to residential areas, with roundabouts in Kariobangi and John Osogo Road in Dandora among the most affected.

Data from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) last year showed that only 272 matatu Saccos are registered to operate in Nairobi. However, the city has 420 unregistered matatu saccos.

The Green Park terminus adjacent to the revamped Uhuru Park which cost Ksh250 million to build has had the official commencement of operations stalled several times. The terminus was to be among six termini the NMS planned to set up to decongest human traffic in the city.

This now brings the elephant in the room, cartels. With such shoddy operations within the city, corruption cartels have been running amok and frustrating previous top leadership. However, Sakaja promised to deal with them in his tenure while ensuring a corruption-free government.

“My message to them is ‘there is a new sheriff in town, it won’t be business as usual’. We must deliver to Nairobians and they lose their jobs before I lose mine,” he said on Citizen TV.

High Population and Affordable Houses

One other problem Sakaja will have to address is the issue of affordable housing, with rent in the city typically too high for ordinary folk to afford, forcing them to seek residence in Nairobi's satellite towns.

However, NMS had begun its affordable housing project which started with the construction of over 60,000 units across the city's estates. It had already announced an open and transparent allocation of houses under the Affordable Housing Programme phase 2 which is yet to commence.

The 10 estates marked for upgrade include Woodley, Bahati, Maringo, Jericho, Lumumba, Ziwani, Embakasi, California, Kariobangi and Bondeni.

The city population now stands at about 4.3 million people according to the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), a population that has strained resources such as housing, road network, sewerage lines and water supply infrastructure.

An image of the Nairobi CBD. /FILE