Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has initiated his plan to restore Nairobi to its lost glory by putting stringent measures on both City Hall employees and a plan to decongest the city.
Speaking on Wednesday when he officially launched the Biometric Staff Management System, Sonko stated that the plan will help weed out an estimated 2000 ghost workers out of the approximate13,000 City Hall employees in an attempt save on the billions of shillings lost to these ghost workers on a monthly basis.
According to a report by The Star, “This exercise will help reduce the number(of ghost workers) and we’ll only remain with the genuine identified staff.”
The governor, who issued a stern warning to lazy employees, clearly indicated that he would not hesitate to dismiss lazy employees who waste the county’s precious time as reported by People Daily.
The system, that also comes with mandatory identification badges, will discretely record the arrival and departure of employees and the amount of time spent at work.
“Anyone found to be absenting themselves from work will face disciplinary action including dismissal. Kanjo mentality must come to an end,” he stated.
Additionally, the ambitious governor’s plans to decongest Nairobi’s Central business district have climbed a notch higher after he launched the Luthuli Avenue Regeneration Project in conjunction with the UN-Habitat.
The project has set plans underway to decongest Luthuli Avenue, the most congested street in the CBD, due to the many matatus that parked along the road leading to heavy human and vehicle traffic.
Many business owners also filed complaints that their business entrances were always blocked, which adversely affected the progress of their work. These factors led to the avenue being chosen for the pilot project.
Users of Luthuli Avenue will soon enjoy a one-way street with a pedestrian walkaway, proper lighting, and road markings.
In addition, the County Government of Nairobi intends to install air pollution monitoring gadgets, the first of their kind, along the avenue to help in ensuring a cleaner and greener environment.
UN Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive UN-Habitat Mr Victor Kisob, who was also present during the event, hailed Nairobi among the most beautiful and vibrant cities in Africa.
He promised continued partnership between UN-Habitat and Sonko’s administration to improve the city’s environment.
“Nairobi is one of the best cities in Africa and that’s why it’s home to two UN headquarters. That’s why from next week we are hosting the first session of the UN-Habitat Assembly here in Nairobi. Over 20 heads of State will converge here for the conference whose theme is ‘Innovation for Better Quality of Life in Cities and Communities’,” stated Kisob.
The governor noted that the success of the project will be replicated in other roads within the city centre that are also heavily congested
