Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja on Wednesday issued a stern warning to city hawkers who are fond of selling goods on the new walkways recently constructed by the county government.
Governor Sakaja who spoke during an inspection visit to the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD), clarified that the new footpaths were meant for the pedestrians and not hawkers.
According to the Sakaja, his administration would take strict measures against those found culpable of hawking on the refurbished walkways and cycle lanes.
The governor was forced to address the issue after a section of Nairobi residents raised concerns over the limited walking space due to increased hawking activity within the city.
“I inspected ongoing works around the CBD while interacting with Kenyans who provided a lot of wonderful feedback on the walkway improvement that's ongoing on key roads,” the governor noted.
“The new walkways are for pedestrians and not hawking. We will enforce this strictly,” Sakaja added.
In April this year, the Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS) embarked on the construction of new passenger walkways and cycle lanes in a move that was aimed at decongesting the city.
The construction works began after the Nairobi County Government secured Ksh8.7 billion funding from the United States government.
Speaking after a meeting with the US delegation in Nairobi mid this year, Governor Sakaja stated that the funds would also be utilised to expand major roads within Nairobi.
"We are excited about our engagement with the Government of the United States of America through MCC which is partnering with us on a $ 60 million (Ksh8.7 billion) threshold program for the people of Nairobi," Sakaja announced.
"The program spans transport and Land Use Development Planning for the City of Nairobi, walkways and cycle paths, Bus Rapid Transit financing, and commuter and pedestrian connectivity," he added.
However, the second phase of the construction of the walkways and cycle lanes are yet to be done even as the county government continues to put up measures for the completion.
