UDA Nairobi County gubernatorial candidate Johnson Sakaja has flagged a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) claiming that he will grant Somali traders special privileges in Nairobi
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke on Friday, July 22, an official from Sakaja's communication team discredited the report noting that it was out to taint the senator's reputation and manifesto.
The official affirmed that they were not aware of any deals further poking holes at the contents of the documents.
Among the agreements propagated by the fake document was that Sakaja would establish unique trading zones for the business community in the city.
"Businesses registered within the Exclusive Econmic Zone shall be exempted from paying county tax and fees, KRA tax obligations and KEBS inspection and instead pay a single annual business fee," the fake report read.
Hawkers were also to be relocated from the zones to the CBD. Bars, pubs, and lodgings were to be shut down while twilight ladies operating within CBD were to be relocated to special red zones.
A spot check by Kenyans.co.ke revealed that there was no association in the country registered as the Moghadishu Business Community that reportedly signed the MoU with Sakaja.
The document's release coincided with the launch of Sakaja's manifesto, further raising doubts about its legality.
Sakaja and his running mate, Njoroge Muchiri, promised to transform Nairobi's order and dignity and also create more job opportunities for the residents.
"We envisage a city with orderly public transport, whose governance is transparent and accountable, has quality health care and harmonised social protection initiatives.
"A city where people collaborate, where information is readily available, where the rules are clear and everyone abides by the law. A city in which order is cherished," the duo state in their manifesto.
They promised to have a feeding programme for all public primary schools and increase the capacity of ECD centres in public primary schools and refurbish existing ECD.
Among other agendas were delivering a customer experience that is service-focused, auditing and fast-tracking payments of pending bills, decongesting the CBD and incorporating a smart solution to reduce the time spent in traffic jams by about 80 per cent.
In the health sector, he assured residents that he will upscale critical care units and stock hospitals.
"There are no second-class citizens in this first-class county. Our people have faced evictions and the demolition of their homes. Our traders have been arrested, humiliated and treated like criminals. We need to restore a sense of pride and self-worth in our people.
"We must ensure that all our citizens are treated the same; are respected and are looked upon by the county government with dignity and honour. This will not only be done by building the environment around them but also by reorienting how these systems view their people," Sakaja and Muchiri pledged," the manifesto read in part.
