City Hall unveiled a Ksh 1.2 billion megaproject that will save traders from losses and also curb the upsurge of fire disasters in Nairobi County. The donation was handed over to the county, under Acting Governor and Speaker Benson Mutura, by the Belgian Government on Monday, February 1.
Belgium is expected to upgrade the county's firefighting equipment to state-of-the-art standards after the two parties signed an agreement in March 2018.
Two years later, the deal was approved, allowing the Belgians to proceed with the second phase of the project after completing the first phase which was unveiled in 2016.
The Belgians will donate firefighting and disaster management equipment, from rescue boats and ultra-modern equipment that can drain water, which will be used during floods. They will also provide the county with containment tools that will be used in case of chemical attacks in the city.
Nicolas Nihon, Belgium Ambassador to Kenya, disclosed that they will release Ksh 420 million in the first batch of the second phase and will provide the balance in subsequent donations.
"I am elated to see Belgium supporting us. The fire fighting vehicles and equipment donated in Phase I, in 2017, have gone a long way in helping our Fire and Rescue team respond better to fire incidences which are common, especially in the informal settlements," acting County Secretary Jairus Musumba expressed.
In 2017, City Hall's firefighting efforts were boosted with 29 vehicles; firefighting engines and equipment and ambulances. Kangundo Road Fire Station was also upgraded.
The county also hired 300 firefighters and plans to recruit 200 more to improve service delivery in the city.
Businesses in the city have been prone to fire incidences, with Gikomba Market being on the spotlight. Traders at the market castigated the police for failing to investigate the cause of the fires.
They said that they believed the fires are lit by arsonists who are funded by cartels. The traders also disclosed that their businesses are torched at specific times of the year, indicating that there is a well laid out plan and pattern.
''There is a Tanzanian cartel that controls this market. You either adhere to their rules or suffer the consequences. Traders who are defiant have fires lit on their properties by paid street urchins'' Marcus Oduori a tailor claimed.
In June 2020, Interior PS Karanja Kibicho pledged that the government would compensate traders who lost goods in a fire incident that month and also launch a formal investigation into the prevalent disaster. Kibicho was accompanied by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) Director-General Mohamed Badi and Kamukunji MP Yussuf Hassan.
