Wapiganapo fahali wawili ziumiazo ni nyasi (when two bulls fight, it is the grass that suffers) is a Swahili adage saying that can be loosely translated to mean that when the mighty fight it is those of little means who suffer.
However, in the case of Nairobi County, the residents can be argued to be the biggest beneficiaries of the current 'battle of projects' between Governor Mike Sonko and the Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS) Director-General (DG) Mohammed Badi, under President Uhuru's tutelage.
On June 30, President Uhuru celebrated 100 days of NMS in a colourful ceremony that started at his Harambee Avenue office, culminating at the Kenyatta International Convention Center (KICC), where he received the 100 days NMS Achievements Report and flagged off 22 NMS-branded Water Bowsers and 5 Ambulances for use in serving Nairobians.
The procession of vehicle had an uncanny similarity to Sonko's donation back in January 2015, (when he was still a Senator) that turned heads.
In what can only be described as a Sonko-move, the governor donated a fleet of wedding limousines comprising of three H2 Hummers and four Mercedes Benz (New S Class Model) for Nairobi residents getting married.
While making the announcement, the flamboyant senator had said that cars were available for free to Nairobi residents and also revealed that he had purchased ambulances free response to medical emergencies.
“The ambulances are managed by Sonko Rescue Team and operate on a 24-hour basis. God forbid but should your loved one pass away, we will help transport their bodies/remains from Nairobi to any part of Kenya free of charge,” he said.
Just to take it a step further in a way that only he can, Sonko also donated 4 Land Rovers (Discovery model) that would be used to carry out Mashinani Security Patrols within Nairobi County in an effort to reduce the levels of crime and insecurity in the county.
Roads Projects
On June 2, DG Abdi announced that he had given the all-clear for works aimed at improving roads in the city.
They aim of the project, according to the DG, is to develop an efficient non-motorised transport, recarpet roads and improve drainage and streetlights within Kenya's capital.
“The journey to change the state of roads in the city centre has begun. We target more than 100 kilometres of non-motorised transport in just one year,” NMS Transport, Roads and Public Works director Michael Ochieng revealed.
Already, Kenyatta Avenue and Wabera Street have seen the replacement of parking spots with the inclusion of bicycle lanes and pedestrian walkways.
On his part, Sonko, with the backing of the UN-Habitat, kickstarted a project aimed at making Nairobi's streets more pedestrian-friendly.
In this regard, Nairobi's Luthuli Avenue was converted into a one-way street, with sidewalks on both sides expanded to allow for more flow and ease of pedestrian movement.
Banda Street, Accra Lane behind Accra Street and Gedi Lane were next on the list, with Governor Sonko calling for the setting up of bicycle lanes, pedestrian walkways, street lights, road markings and specific lanes for people living with disabilities.
The governor was also proud when he annonced that the Moi lane upgrade was complete with 50 new parking slots added to enhance revenue collection.
Housing Projects
As President Uhuru marked 100 days of NMS, he expressed his satisfaction at the new body's achievement in regards to his affordable housing project, which falls directly under his Big 4 Agenda.
Alongside DG Badi, Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja and other NMS officials, the president visited the Park Road Housing Project Site - the site is located in Ngara, Nairobi and sandwiched by Park Road, Kinshasha road and Muslim Road. The project scope will include one-, two- and three-bedroom housing units, a parking silo and other social amenities. The works are scheduled to be completed within two years.
“I am satisfied that the directives for the first 100 days have been implemented in earnest,” the President said following his tour.
Notably, on March 12, 2019, Sonko waived building approval fees for affordable housing projects in Nairobi City.
The Governor said the move by his administration would pave way for the national and county governments to kick off the affordable housing project that targets to construct 200,000 houses in Nairobi.
“As evidence of our commitment to support affordable housing, my Cabinet has approved a proposal that building approval fees for all affordable housing projects, be waived. This covers projects being undertaken by the private sector, by the County Government and by the National Government,” he explained.
Covid-19 Contribution
On June 9, DG Badi announced his plan to set aside 490 beds in county hospitals to handle increased cases of the coronavirus in the city.
Accompanied by NMS Health Services director Josephine Kibaru-Mbae during a mask-donation exercise, NMS revealed that Lady Griffin at Kenya Medical Training College would have 190 beds, Pumwani's Nursing and Training College 90, and Bahati Health Centre 50.
“The surge in Covid-19 positive cases has necessitated that we increase the bed capacity to boost what we already have at Mbagathi, Kenyatta National Hospital and Kenyatta University isolation centres,” Mbae stated at the time.
Sonko was at the same time making global news when he added a bottle of Hennessy to his Covid-19 relief packs. The governor has been using his Sonko Rescue Team to hand out packs of essential items to needy families across the country during the pandemic.
In April 2020, Sonko's team started erecting mass sanitiser spraying booths in the city in efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus.
The first booth was erected at Kencom bus terminus to disinfect commuters boarding buses at the area.
Governor Sonko announced that similar booths would be put up at all bus termini given that Nairobi remained the epicentre of Covid-19 in the country.
NMS's 100 days in charge of some of the key functions in Nairobi County was lauded by the President who went on to charge DG Badi's team with making Nairobi the model for a post-coronavirus recovery strategy.
However, the move to pass on some of the functions to NMS seems to have spurred the Nairobi Governor to carry out projects of his own in equal measure, with Nairobi residents arguably standing proud as the biggest winners.
