Nairobi News

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja wowed residents by promising to transform Nairobi into a city of order, dignity and opportunity.

The former Senator was elaborate in his plans for the Kenyan capital, doubling down on them in his acceptance speech during his swearing-in ceremony on Thursday.

The fourth governor of Nairobi will come face to face with numerous challenges as he takes over City Hall where service delivery has remained pathetic, with the failures blamed on broken or dysfunctional infrastructure and facilities. He faces the daunting task of turning things around to return the city’s lost glory.

Apart from giving the city a facelift, residents expect their new governor to ensure they have efficient water supply, a clean environment and an organised public transport system.

Together with his deputy Njoroge Muchiri, Sakaja vowed to ‘make Nairobi work’ and deliver it from the shackles of corruption cartels.

Here are the 10 things Governor Sakaja promised Nairobians.

1. A city of hope – Sakaja says that every Kenyan wants the same thing; to go about their lives peacefully, make something out of themselves and guarantee their children a future hope.

He also pledged to transform Nairobi into a city of order, dignity and opportunity for all. Sakaja’s manifesto also commits to ensuring city dwellers are treated the same, are respected and are looked upon by the county government with dignity and honour.

2. City metro commuter light rail – He promised to build a city metro commuter light rail in order to decongest the CBD while preserving decency in the public transport sector. Sakaja and Muchiri also promised to construct a city metro commuter light rail.

3. Keep Nairobi clean – Sakaja promised to implement an e-waste handling and disposal system to keep the city clean. According to his manifesto, his administration will set up sewerage projects to prevent sewage pipes from polluting the streets.

4. Decentralize public services – The former Senator intends to decentralize public services in the county to improve service delivery to residents. “Nairobi will be divided into five elaborate blocks; the North, East, West, South, and Central administration blocks to ease in management and distribution of resources,” Sakaja says in his manifesto.

5. Fixing water problem  in Nairobi – According to the governor, water shortage in Nairobi will come to an end through the implementation of a working water infrastructure system. Sakaja has also committed to providing the residents of Nairobi with clean and safe water.

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6. Clean toilets, water points, street furniture and bus-stop sheds – The new governor intends to restore the city’s dignity through clean toilets, water points, street furniture and bus-stop sheds.

7. A city of inclusivity – Sakaja has vowed to make Nairobi an all-inclusive county by creating programmes that will benefit children living with disability. He has also pledged to pilot programmes of social support for people with disabilities.

8. Sports complex in each sub-county – With a focus on providing the youth with opportunities to improve their livelihoods, Sakaja believes that revamping sports, creative arts, and talents will create an environment that nurtures, grows and monetizes their talents.

Sakaja has committed to initiating an annual Sakaja Cup tournament together with an annual Nairobi Festival in December that will showcase the city and host an all-sports inclusive fund and also deliver sports centres in all sub-counties. He has also promised to lobby for improved royalty payments to content creators and lobby for 60 per cent play time for local content on TVs.

9. Electronic single business permits – Sakaja has promised is to introduce a single electronic business permit in a bid to reduce the number of licenses a single business owner is required to have. He noted that the QR-enabled permit will help weed out corruption and boost city revenue.

10. Free lunch in all public schools – Sakaja’s manifesto focuses on providing healthy lunches for all learners in public primary schools. The feeding programme for the 205 public primary schools with a total enrolment of about 193,058 students across the city will solve the low transition challenge since – according to Sakaja – about 65 per cent of parents from vulnerable households can afford only one meal a day.