Nairobians have expressed concern after the rehabilitation of Nairobi River, a project under the Nairobi Regeneration Project was allocated Ksh800 million by the Treasury.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary (CS) Henry Rotich had on Thursday allocated the funds during the reading of the annual budget on the floor of the parliament.
A section of Kenyans however found the allocation to the the Nairobi Regeneration Committee which is co-chaired by Governor Mike Sonko and former Nairobi Town Clerk John Gakuo overestimated.
[caption caption="Sonko touring Nairobi River"]
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Following the allocation, netizens placed one demand on the Regeneration Committee: That the waters of the river ought to be sparkling clean by the time the budget is spent up.
Rehabilitation of Nairobi River has been allocated Ksh. 800 million. I am waiting to drink water directly from that river.#BudgetKE2018
— Wanjikũ Revolution (@WanjikuRevolt) June 14, 2018
Kes800m to rehabilitate Nairobi river.
It's almost a third of the allocation towards construction of affordable housing and almost half of what was allocated to primary healthcare.
ION.— Errant Native (@KorirArapToo) June 15, 2018
800mil towards rehabilitating Nairobi River? We’ll be damned if that water isn’t drinkable by the end of this year. #BudgetKE2018
— Githinji wa Muhoro (@patrickgithinji) June 15, 2018
Nairobi River got a budget of 800M.
I can't wait to drink poverty healing liquids directly from that golden flowing river! https://t.co/s5kXZWB5KX— #TeamAmbition (@IvixDKioi) June 15, 2018
Rehabilitation of Nairobi River has been allocated Ksh. 800 million. I am waiting to drink water directly from that river and exports the rest to North East#BudgetKE2018
— Robert Alindi (@AlindiRobert) June 15, 2018
Okay. Good but I should be able to drink the water in Nairobi river afterwards. https://t.co/IHOaPTl7v0
— Kenyan Citizen (@BeingWesh) June 15, 2018
It is stupid to think that you can clean Nairobi river without addressing the upstream issues that polute it in the first place. This is money to benefit the clueless team appointed to regenerate the city!
— Ndīritū (@NdirituJNN) June 15, 2018
lol but am sure Nairobi River is even going to get dirty than it is right now, hiyo pesa ni pocket money for one of the goons in government
— Minnie Kang'ethe (@kangethewacuka) June 15, 2018
With every budget armry keeps getting bigger allocation. Who is GOK fighting except their citizens and Somali?! 800M for Nairobi river?! Whose child did we beat up, we go apologize #BudgetKE2018 https://t.co/WecPVmocPZ
— Flaviah Gathomi (@GFlaviah) June 15, 2018
If it were allocated for rehabilitation of Nairobi Dam, then would agree, but Nairobi River? This a scum n way to swindle money from government. Someone is waiting to smile all way to the Bank.
— Thomas (@thomskan82) June 15, 2018
@MutemiWaKiama but you are already sipping water from Nairobi River. Where do you think bottled water complete with KEBS mark of 'quality' come from? Waiting for juice once rehabilitated
— Victor Amadala (@ItsAmadala) June 15, 2018
Hizo za Nairobi river zishakunywa maji
— clement ndege (@clementndege) June 15, 2018
Nairobi River 800m for what? It will never look like the River Thames as long as Kenyans continue being Kenyan. Littering and dumping waste everywhere. https://t.co/Cfo7LDBWME
— Kalasinga (@Kalasinga_) June 15, 2018
Even as some Kenyans expressed concern that the money will end up being looted, others offered different solutions on how to clean the filth from Nairobi River.
It makes sense to allocate sh. 800 million to plant many trees in the catchment area of Nairobi River and it's banks. The rest can be handled by NEMA and NCC.
The Nairobi River connects most of its neighborhoods. Creating cycling lanes along its banks in the spirit of rehabilitation could be a start. pic.twitter.com/jvvQYGeoOR
— Deey (@SIYIAPEI) June 14, 2018
— Bernard Koech (@KoechBernard) June 15, 2018
Speaking of cleanliness @MikeSonko allocate trash lorries to be collecting trash from Gikomba. All the waste collected there is dumped in Nairobi river DAILY!!!. There were kanjo guys who used to clean up before but they no longer come.
— Palm Tree (@6footBarefoot) June 15, 2018
"Nairobi River" It's sad that the river which should be Nairobi's main marketing point is now a dump full of trash. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyrobi, which translates to "cool water", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city.
— Africa Updates (@africaupdates) June 14, 2018
Why not just clean up and we as citizens stop trashing all over!!!
— Ciiku Mugambi (@CiikuMugambi) June 14, 2018
This I agree with, their budget should come from imposing fines on those who pollute the river
— Patrick Munyi (@pmunyi) June 14, 2018
This kind of money we can come up with a whole new river. Bigger better and beautiful
— oigo (@oigoabuya) June 14, 2018
The river has potential for recreational activities for the publics
— me, the hedonist (@makagutu_o) June 14, 2018
Especially with the success of @chrisfroome , cycling could be a regional and international draw for Nairobi tourism. Adding cycling lanes to Nairobi River banks seems like a great way to build a flood-prone buffer and to draw add'l recreation w/o affecting critical roadways.
— Dave Hotchkiss (@dhotchkiss) June 15, 2018
The regeneration committee includes national and county leaders who have set ambitious goals and at one time promised President Uhuru Kenyatta that they will resign if they don't deliver.
The resignation promise was made when the team presented specific timelines to the Head of State for the delivery of key services, ranging from garbage collection to launching a mortgage refinancing company.
