Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has defended himself against backlash after he was named among governors who had not spent money for development projects during the first quarter of the 2023/24 Financial Year.
In a rebuttal, the governor highlighted seven main projects he had undertaken in the city including the construction of roads in various estates and the purchase of garbage trucks.
Additionally, Sakaja indicated that his administration had undertaken the school feeding programme, built walkways in various parts of the city, cleared drainages and refurbished the Nairobi Country Service Centre.
"925 new lights have so far been installed across the city including Ngong Road, Kingara Road, James Gichuru and Upper Hill. 19 new vehicles were added to the fleet to replace dilapidated ones," read the statement in part.
On the other hand, he also shared photos of hospital beds that were set up in select healthcare facilities across the county.
Sakaja highlighted the projects days after the Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang'o released a report on county government expenditures which indicated that Nairobi was among the devolved units without budget allocation for development allocation.
According to the report, Nairobi had an allocation of Ksh14 billion with no money spent on development.
Other counties that were also listed to have not spent any allocation on development were West Pokot, Turkana, Kilifi, Samburu, Homa Bay, Machakos, Wajir, Kericho and Embu.
However, the Council of Governors (CoG) defended the 10 governors noting that many county administrations had to prioritise pending bills over the new development projects.
Medical Bills Waiver
Meanwhile, Sakaja also announced that he had waived all hospital bills for Kenyans who had been detained in the hospitals.
"Met with the Board Chairs and CEOs of our County level 5 hospitals (Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital, Mama Rachel Ruto Mutuini Hospital, Mbagathi Hospital, Pumwani Maternity Hospital, Pumwani College of Nursing and Midwifery) as well as the Nairobi Funeral Home.
"We have issued a waiver to all patients who had been unable to leave the hospitals due to medical bills as well as to families who have been unable to pay fees at the funeral home for the release of the bodies of their loved ones," he stated.
