Some of the most notable features of Nairobi city are traffic jams and a clogged drainage system. It only takes a couple of hours of heavy rains before the city, and most parts of residential estates become miniature lakes.
No amount of suffering and pleading from the public has moved the Nairobi county government to address this very pertinent issue which, apart from causing death and destruction, exposes the public to health risks. The city’s planning is a relic of colonial times and its drainage system was designed to accommodate only a few thousand residents.
While there has been an exponential population growth, little has been done to expand the existing drainage. What should worry city residents, however, is the revelation that the county government does not have maps for the drainage system. The implication of this is that it can do nothing to rid the city of the perennial flooding problem since it does not know where to start.
To city residents, this is chilling and shocking in equal measure. The negligence exhibited by the county government in many areas of its jurisdiction is appalling, not just because we expect better services, but also because it has led to several deaths. And we pay taxes.
