The Nairobi Metropolitan Services, headed by Major-Gen Mohammed Abdalla, will, effective Thursday, be in charge of transport, health, public works, utilities and ancilliary services as well as City Hall’s planning and development sectors.
Major-Gen Abdalla will be deputised by Enosh Momanyi Onyango, who was nominated by President Uhuru Kenyatta as principal secretary for physical planning.
State House Wednesday named a team that will take over the running of four key functions that were ceded to the national government by City Hall last month.
The Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS), headed by Major-Gen Mohammed Abdalla, will, effective Thursday, be in charge of transport, health, public works, utilities and ancilliary services as well as City Hall’s planning and development sectors.
Major-Gen Abdalla will be deputised by Enosh Momanyi Onyango, who was nominated by President Uhuru Kenyatta as principal secretary for physical planning. While announcing the appointments and the formation of the NMS, the President directed the unit to crackdown on corrupt cartels that have crippled service delivery at City Hall.
“I have created the office of the Nairobi Metropolitan Service... These two gentlemen and other officers to be seconded by both national and county government will assume control of the transferred functions,” Mr Kenyatta said.
He gave the team 100 days to restore water provision to city residents and bring sanity to a chaotic public transport characterised by boda boda operators reputed for flouting traffic rules.
Embattled Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko handed over the four county functions to the national government last month.
Delivery of basic services to city residents has nearly grounded to a halt since December last year following the suspension of Mr Sonko and the absence of a substantive deputy.
to oversee operations at the county.
Nairobi became the first devolved unit to cede some of its functions to the national government through a gazette notice dated February 25 amid corruption charges that saw the courts bar Mr Sonko from office.
Mr Sonko has also had his tenure tainted by infighting in his administration, highlighted by the exit of his deputy Polycarp Igathe in January 2018 and multiple of sackings of county executives.
The President on Wednesday said corruption in the Sonko administration had crippled service delivery and scared away investors from the capital city.
City Hall has perennially experienced revenue collection shortfalls.
“The biggest problem that the city faces is corruption and cartels that have a vice-like grip on City Hall from the collection of garbage to parking of vehicles to water supply to issuance of permits. The cartels and the corrupt have made service delivery almost impossible. I task them [NMS] firstly to bring to an end the corruption and dismantle the cartels that have hindered development of this county,” Mr Kenyatta said.
Top on the new team’s agenda is creation of two matatu termini on Desai Road and Maasai Road to stem use of city streets for parking by matatus and complete the implementation of the Nairobi Railway City Masterplan for commuter trains to ease traffic.
NMS also has 100 days to construct walkways along the major streets and introduce automated hourly parking at the Central Bus Station, Sunken area along Aga Khan Walk and Nairobi Law Courts.
This comes two days after the Kenya Revenue Authority took over collection of all taxes and levies at City Hall in what is expected to seal leakages that has seen the county perennially miss its targets.
City Hall raised Sh10.25 billion in taxes, levies and penalties in the financial year ended June 2019, falling short of the annual target by nearly Sh5 billion.
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