Focus shifts to Badi as first 100 days in office end tomorrow
All eyes will be on Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS) Director General Mohammed Badi as focus turns on his administration’s scorecard with first 100 days in office lapsing on Sunday.
When the new office was established on March 18, 2020, by President Uhuru Kenyatta to take over the running of four functions transferred to the National Government from city Hall, it was given 100 days to achieve certain targets in line with the transferred functions.
In line with the Presidential Directive, the Major General is now expected to hand over a report to the President on achievements by the new office before next week.
“NMS is working daily to ensure that all the Presidential directives are not only achieved but exceeded and projects sustainability continues for improved living standards of Nairobians, long after the 100 days elapses,” said Maj Gen Badi.
NMS was tasked with bringing to end corruption as well as dismantling cartels that have hindered the development of the county.
A strong statement of intent
Regarding this directive, Mr Badi has already disbanded City Hall development plans approval committees sending out a strong statement of intent in an area, which has been accused of being the den of corruption in Nairobi County.
The next deliverable was to operationalise effective garbage collection and disposal methods working in collaboration with NYS with all grounded trucks repaired to increase capacity.
Already, NMS has been collecting an average of 175 truckloads of garbage daily, against the target of 2,000 truckloads daily, with over 70 percent waste backlog cleared.
According to the Environment Directorate, the target is to dispose an average of over 3,000 tons daily at Dandora Dumpsite which has seen delivery to the dumpsite shoot from 1,000 tons to average of 2,500 tons a day.
The office was also to conduct a serious crackdown on illegal dumpsites and ensure reinforcement on effluent discharge from industries and restaurants into rivers as well as gazette legal solid waste dumpsites for both public and private solid waste collectors.
Consequently, illegal dumpsites have been closed with the legal ones gazetted while there are plans to relocate the dumpsite.
In matters transport, NMS team was directed to work closely with NAMATA to implement Nairobi urban mobility plan, come up with pedestrian walkways, dedicated cycling and pedestrian lanes on Wabera Street, Kenyatta Avenue and Muindi Mbingu Street within 100 days.
Already, the face of Nairobi CBD has changed with road repairs are ongoing coupled with the development of a non-motorised transport facility along the three streets which is in the final stages.
Manage traffic
President Kenyatta also tasked the office to establish bus stages at Desai and Park Roads as efforts to manage traffic in Nairobi City centre. And as was ordered, work on the two matatu termini are at an advanced stage.
Also within the same period, NMS was expected to come up with strategies of equitable water distribution services as well as dismantle cartels in management and distribution of water by registering and monitoring water vendors as reinforcement of water bowsers to ensure Nairobians pay fair water bills.
The latter began in April and currently, an inspection by Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company is ongoing to weed out the non-registered water vendors. The firm’s Board of directors has also been reconstituted with the previous board sent home in its entirety.
NMS is also involved in the sinking of 93 boreholes with 51 boreholes already drilled mostly in informal Settlements with the second batch of 42 boreholes to follow.
This is in addition to the ongoing fabrication and elevation of 35 elevated tanks, completed 20,903 meters of extension piping as well as the daily distribution of 200,000 litres of water to informal settlements using water bowsers.
The other deliverables were to work closely with relevant institutions to establish the Railway City Development Authority and identify the anchor projects and investors for this redevelopment project.
The team was also to review and make determinations on existing projects, streamline urban renewal and come up with development control and approvals for the county as well as move in speed and recover contested county land meant for solid waste matter across Nairobi.