Nairobi governor, Johnson Sakaja, has been warned to brace for economic consequences, environmental degradation and other political ramifications in his plan to flatten the Ksh250 million Green Park terminus launched by former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Despite the first-term governor ambitiously seeking to convert the controversial park into a multi-storeyed state state-of-the-art hotel, questions were raised regarding transparency, accountability and inconsistency in governance structures.
In a media interview on Wednesday, June 21, Sakaja argued that the project, which cost the government Ksh250 million, was wasting away and that setting up high-end hotels will help the county recoup the money.
"Picture this, you land in Nairobi from abroad and in five minutes, you exit the expressway into the centre. There is a mall and other facilities. That is something we're exploring doing under Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). Investors have expressed interest in building hotels in the conference facility," Sakaja noted.
Implications
However, stakeholders argue that Sakaja's plan is ill-advised, coming at a time when the country is grappling with an economic downturn.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke Kileleshwa Member of County Assembly Robert Alai, stated that lawmakers will only support the project if Sakaja provides empirical data guiding its implementation.
"If the governor plans to repurpose Green Park, then that needs to be informed by data and research. He must convince me that there is demand for conference facilities and that taxpayers money will not be wasted," Alai told Kenyans.co.ke.
"However, at the moment, we have more urgent issues like building schools and roads. I think the governor can focus on that first," Alai stated, adding that Sakaja should prioritize education, healthcare and other critical infrastructural projects.
Alai warned that poor governance leads to graft, which hampers economic growth and instability. The lack of transparency and accountability witnessed in such projects may also erode the public's trust in Sakaja
Javas Bigambo, a governance specialist, and political communication strategist, concurred, adding that Sakaja would run into a myriad of challenges, including court cases and opposition from environmental activists and other stakeholders.
Bigambo indicated that the first-time governor will face legal battles due to the cost implications of repurposing the project valued at Ksh250 million. He thus advised the governor to engage different stakeholders before embarking on a project affecting the transport sector.
Green Park Terminus was conceived to help decongest Nairobi Central Business District (CBD). However, matatus operators failed to relocate to the facility in several bids fronted by the defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) and Sakaja's administration.
"The Governor should first engage matatu operators because he cannot ignore the fact that Green Park Terminus was reserved for them. They can reconsider their decision and oppose the new plan to put up conference facilities," Bigambo told Kenyans.co.ke.
He further opined that setting up hotels and conferences will also face opposition from members of parliament as a multi-storeyed building may pose a security threat to Parliament, which is adjacent to Green Park terminus.
"If you can recall, MPs expressed reservations during the inception phase of the Nairobi Expressway. So building such hotels will likely expose them to security threats because the national assembly is just across the road," he insisted.
To counter challenges derailing the project, Bigambo, a former lecturer at Moi University's Nairobi Campus, implored Sakaja to conduct proper public participation and also consult other facilities near the target area, including the Railway Golf Club.
Sakaja should also provide guidelines on how the hotels will be managed and whether they will be leased or run by a private firm.
