City Halls Wants Projects Transferred to NMS Back to MCAs

Office of the County Governor, Nairobi County.
Office of the County Governor, Nairobi County.
Kenyans.co.ke

City Hall is embroiled in a fierce battle with Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) over the control of ward-based projects worth Sh1.3 billion, even as city residents continue to miss out on basic services.

The standoff over the Ward Development Fund (WDF) projects has seen city residents miss out on Ksh1.3 billion worth of projects in the financial year ended June 30, 2021. 

However, Nairobi County legislators are piling pressure for the completion of the stalled projects for the financial year ended June 30, 2021, ahead of the coming polls in 2022. 

The standoff over the WDF projects has seen city residents miss out on projects in the financial year ended June 30, 2021, where each of the 85 wards was allocated Sh14 million. 

Former Nairobi Governor Anne Kananu Mwenda (left) and former NMS boss Mohammed Badi.
Former Nairobi Governor Anne Kananu Mwenda (left) and former NMS boss Mohammed Badi on April 21, 2022.
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NMS

The MCAs have already allocated Sh1.5 billion in the current financial year’s budget, for their Ward projects, which are also in limbo due to the back and forth. 

The office of the Controller of Budget has now been involved in the wrangles between City Hall and NMS. 

Nairobi Finance and Economic Planning Executive, Allan Igambi appearing before Nairobi County Assembly’s Implementation Committee, accused the Controller of Budget of inconsistency in the release of funds meant for implementing the projects. 

The City Hall administration has put the blame on the Controller of Budget for failing to release funds for the projects. 

The MCAs transferred the projects to NMS last year, but City Hall wants the projects back. 

The functions transferred from City Hall to NMS included county health, transport, public works, utilities and support services and planning and development services. 

In April, the MCAs had directed the Transport and Public Works Committee to carry out an investigation on NMS

They claimed that despite issuing a project priority list, NMS was yet to begin construction works on some of them despite the allocation of necessary equipment. 

Nairobi county government projected a Ksh37.3 billion budget for the 2021-22 financial year. Barely a month after the announcement, Badi cracked the whip and transferred officials that were reportedly dormant. 

Nairobi MCAs during a physical sitting in 2020
Nairobi MCAs during a physical sitting in 2020
NMG