Sakaja exposes the ‘rot’ at NMS
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja now says the defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) comprised corrupt officials who presided over the loss of billions of shillings.
According to the county boss, while the NMS provided a considerable number of services to Nairobians including the construction of pathways and pavements within the Central Business District (CBD), their was a lot that was not right happening behind the scenes.
“There are many areas in which they did work, number one is installing the cabro in town. In some places there are very good pathways, though we would ask a question like, outside the Parliament, the tarmac was okay, why do you have to uproot it to bring cabro,” posed Sakaja.
Speaking during an interview in Spice FM, the governor said funds advanced to the NMS, to the tune of billions of shillings was not accounted for. He also pointed out that the NMS left behind pending bills worth Sh16 billion when its term of office lapsed.
Sakaja said Members of County Assembly (MCAs) did not get an opportunity to audit the NMS assignments and use of public resources.
“They would build dispensaries and hospitals and then quickly invite the President (Uhuru Kenyatta) to launch. After that (the launch) they close the place.”
Sakaja claimed a majority of the 23 hospitals constructed in Nairobi by NMS, which was led by General Mohamed Badi, are not functioning since they were just empty buildings without medical equipment, and that at some point, the unit had to bring in pregnant women to just to please the authority.
“Most of them had nothing, I’m equipping them now…for three years, there was no supply of medicine because of Sh185 million debt which by now I’ve cleared by now I’ve cleared Sh160 million…in fact, some ladies were brought to look pregnant there and then taken back to the community.”
The governor says it is not clear how the defunct unit spend over Sh40 billion in the past two years.
“I asked for that audit, what happened in those two years. And those pending bills that they incurred, I moved them to the executive office of the President, and we agreed with the Auditor General that those should be sorted by the executive office of the President.”
He said that it was unfortunate for the last regime to transfer some functions to the defunct unit, and still transferred pending bills to the County Government upon expiry of its term.
On the 100 boreholes which were done by NMS, the Governor pointed out that the project was good until it was later determined that the water is not suitable for consumption.
“WHO recommended levels of fluoride, which is 1.5 milligrams per litre. A lot of boreholes in east of Nairobi are up to 8 or 6 milligrams. So that water is not safe for human consumption.”
The NMS was set up by former President Uhuru Kenyatta after then Nairobi governor Mike Sonko signed off some functions of the capital to be handled by the entity.
The move turned controversial, as Sonko would later consistently claim that he signed off the devolved duties to NMS under duress as he had been intoxicated by alcohol served at State House.
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