In an interview on the HOT 96 Breakfast, Sakaja pledged to tackle the menace and improve the city’s inadequate drainage systems.
He also expressed concern about a lack of resources while highlighting some roads, such as Kipande road, that are now free from flooding.
“The problem with drainage is not blockage as much right now. It’s mainly just a capacity issue. The rains we have are extremely higher than before, but of course we need to expand the infrastructure,” Sakaja added.
The governor also pledged to ensure order in Nairobi Central Business District (CBD) following a directive that relegated hawkers to the backstreets.
In an order on January 6, 2025, the county government said the hawking of merchandise in the designated areas will run from Monday to Saturday, 4pm-10pm.
“They keep trying to come back, but we are raising the capacity, we are changing some of the inspectorate officers working in the CBD as some of them got acquainted to the hawkers,” Sakaja noted.
On the state of roads in the capital, Sakaja noted that plans are on course to see to it that those under his purview are in good condition.
“Not to shift blame but there are roads that are under my purview while others are under the national government. Nairobi cannot get the same allocation as any other county because of its significance,” he said.
He also took issue with cases of vandalism, calling on police officers to support efforts to ward off criminals targeting infrastructure.
“We are getting an arrangement with police to address insecurity issues such as vandalism. Our workers were stabbed on Outering Road recently,” Sakaja lamented.
On the contested mushrooming of buildings in areas such as Kilimani, Sakaja noted that he is awaiting an audit report on construction projects in Nairobi in the last two years.
He added that the county put together a team of experts drawn from the Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK), Engineers Board of Kenya (EBK), the Kenya Institute of Planners (KIP), among others.
“You must create order in the built environment and make sure we still have green spaces.”
He added that the county will not approve occupational licenses for those who flout rules and regulations.
By Teddy Eugene Otieno
