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Sonko: I don’t need five years to fix Nairobi, just give me one more


Nairobi governor Mike Sonko is pleading for one more year to transform Nairobi.

In an interview with Citizen TV, the governor urged Nairobians to allow him to deliver his promises within a year.

Sonko’s plea came as he blamed unnamed government officials of frustrating him and selling a narrative that he has not been working.

“Now they are just doing diversionary tactics, character assassination and at the same time they are calling for disbandment of Nairobi county. Why do you want me to go home within five months? Why don’t you give me time? Why don’t you come and help me?”

‘FIGHTING ME’

“You one person fighting me in government, if the president is helping me who are you to fight me?” an angry Sonko said during the interview.

The governor said he has been working hard to improve Nairobi despite what he termed as “organised cartel fights”.

“I don’t need five years, my financial year starts around June, just give me one year and see.”

“Let me defend myself even now when I am being fought, there is something happening on the ground. When I took office I found that there were some funds from the World Bank, some billions of shillings, people have spent part of that money nothing was done on the ground.”

“My first project was the data centre, I invited the president and the deputy president, we launched a data centre here. My second project was the fire engines. We had dead 11 to 12 fire engines, today we have over 30 fire engines, we are fighting all the infernos in the city,” said Sonko.

He also cited the improvements of markets in Mwariro, Kirandini and Muthurwa alongside, refurbished roads in Donholm, Falcon and Maji Mazuri and maternity hospitals in Kayole South, Baba Dogo, South B, Mutuini and Baba Dogo.

‘FOCUSED’

“Sonko is focused, Sonko wants to fulfil his pledges that he gave to Nairobians when he was campaigning,” he stated.

The governor explained he has been linking his predecessor Evans Kidero to Nairobi woes because he (Kidero) had a choice to do away with cartels at City Hall, but instead he chose not to fight them hence handing over a dead system to him.

“People are making a lot of noise and I’m happy, I love them, I like my critics because without them criticizing me I wouldn’t know the challenges on the ground.”

“But these challenges are challenges that we’ve inherited, I don’t want all the time to talk about Kidero, Nairobians decided I am the governor so I should not be talking about Kidero, but again let us ask ourselves some questions,” he added.

Sonko in his interview promised to deliver his promises to Nairobians within one year and urged all his critics to join him in solving Nairobi’s problems.