The Nairobi County government has launched a fresh crackdown on all unlawful billboards and visual clutter, with advertising firms put on high alert.
Chief Officer for Urban Development and Planning Patrick Analo announced the renewed crackdown, which would target key routes including Mombasa Road, Ngong Road, Waiyaki Way, James Gichuru Road and other high-traffic corridors, which have developed an infamous reputation for being overcrowded with billboards.
According to Analo, most of the billboards that are being erected in these areas are being erected unlawfully, with the advertisers urged to take them down willingly or be subjected to forced removal by the county government.
The county warned that failure to remove the billboards voluntarily would result in forced removal, and penalties would be incurred by advertisers for recovery and enforcement.
“Advertising companies are urged to undertake self-removal of these billboards because if we remove them, we will impound them and charge the companies a removal penalty,” Analo warned.
The intensified operation is part of Governor Johnson Sakaja's broader urban renewal and beautification agenda, with the county boss intent on fulfilling his regime's mandate weeks after surviving an impeachment attempt.
The county government has also intensified efforts to restore and expand Nairobi's street lighting infrastructure, with poles installed along Lower Hill Road, Dar es Salaam Road, Enterprise Road, Ngong Road, Arboretum Drive, and areas in Kilimani, the CBD, Buruburu, and Westlands.
County officials, however, have raised alarm over rogue operators, who they claim are hampering efforts to beautify the city. According to Analo, power lines in various key areas have been tampered with by advertisers who mount pole-based billboards, compromising the integrity of the lighting systems.
Incidentally, the crackdown on billboards came barely 48 hours after the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) announced plans to take down signboards and unlawful installations along the Eastern Bypass Corridor.
According to the agency, the structures not only compromised the aesthetic value of the urban landscape but also posed a significant danger to motorists and pedestrians.
Elsewhere, Sakaja also recently threatened to deregister Private Service Providers' businesses who are facilitating unlawful waste dumping across the city.
Sakaja claimed that despite these individuals being paid to collect and dispose of waste appropriately, they have recurrently disposed of waste at unlawful sites.
The County Chief further noted that the county government is keen to establish more waste management infrastructure across the county and hire more people, especially the youths, who will be tasked with ensuring that streets are clean.
