Kidero master-plan, politics and why Capital is a hard nut to crack

All the six contenders for the Nairobi governor seat have in their campaigns been promising to restores the city’s lost glory. Polycarp Igathe of Jubilee Party, Johnson Sakaja (United Democratic Alliance), Kenneth Nyamwamu (United Progressive Alliance) and independent candidates Agnes Kagure, Nancy Mwadime and Esther Thairu are pledging to make the city a better place to live and work in.

Although each of the other four candidates are exuding confidence of winning, it is Igathe and Sakaja who are the front-runners to succeed Ann Kananu at the helm of City Hall.
Both men think they hold the magic wand to problems bedeviling the city as outlined in the Nairobi Integrated Urban Development Master Plan (NIUPLAN) launched in 2014 by former governor Dr Evans Kidero. The master plan has noble ideas that if fully implemented, the city would become a paradise. The city has an ugly face since most of its infrastructure is either tearing apart or out of date.

Some of the facilities like sewerage and water systems, storm water drainage, fire stations, rental houses and waste management points need proper rehabilitation to bring them back to a desirable state.

Among the key issues in NIUPLAN were to decentralise business, administrative and commerce functions supported by a new urban transport network complete with a railway hub; and expansion and renovation of Central Business District (CBD). The master plan envisaged preservation of green spaces, restoration of rivers and river banks that were to be used recreation activities. Restructuring of Industrial Area by allocating new industrial zones in the southern part of the city as well as redeveloping the current industrial area was another idea the authors of the plan prioritised.

There was also emphasis on the need to beautify the city in a bid to restore its pride through urban landscape regulation and commitment to maintain historical beauty.
NIUPLAN proposed an effective transport system and pedestrian-friendly walking spaces in town where public transport would be controlled through establishing termini for buses and matatus. The Dandora dumpsite was to be relocated and renewable energy to generate power initiated. Storm water drainage linking up to rivers Nairobi and Ngong was to be developed as the Kidero administration promised to turn the city into an economic hub.
“I will personally be in the forefront to see the legislative, legal and institutional capacity building requirements are met,” said Kidero during launch of the master plan. However, little has been heard about the master plan after he exited.
Even as the city chokes under a myriad challenges, Athi Water Works Development Agency (AWWDA), Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) and Kenya Railways (KR) have been undertaking several activities and developments aligned to NIUPLAN.  
On water supply in the city, the Northern Collector Tunnel Phase 1 (NCT1) is set to provide an additional 140 million litres of clean water per day, according to AWWDA. The project which is part of the larger fourth Nairobi Water Supply is expected to be completed by end of this month.
Nairobi’s water demand currently stands at 810 million litres per day against a supply of 550 million litres per day with a deficit of 260 million litres.
The NCT 1 project will provide an additional 140 million litres per day to the existing water distribution network reducing water rationing that affects most households.
Apart from improving houses and inter-estate roads NMS has attempted to upgrade non-motorised transport infrastructure in the city by paving pedestrian walkways and cycling lanes.
NMS also re-carpeted roads within the CBD and sunk boreholes in informal settlement to enhance water supply.
At the same time, NMS is racing against time to do away with old houses and replace them with 60,000 modern affordable ones in the second phase of the exercise. The renovation is being undertaken in colonial era estates of Bahati, Maringo, Jericho, Lumumba, Ziwani, Embakasi, California, Kariobangi, Bondeni and Woodley.
Phase one of the project covered Uhuru estate, New Ngara, Old Ngara, Suna Road, Pangani, Ngong Phase I and Ngong Phase II. NMS, which was formed to bring order in the city, is in charge of health services, transport, public works, utilities and ancillary services, and planning and development.
On the other hand, KR is in the process of establishing Nairobi Railway City, an iconic multi-modal urban development situated on 425 acres between Haile Sellasie Avenue, Uhuru Highway, Landhies Road and Bunyala Road. 
The Nairobi Railway City, which seeks to expand and decongest CBD, was developed by the UK firm Atkins Global. The Sh32 billion project is aimed at revamping rail services in the capital and modernising infrastructure to improve connectivity in the city.
And with elections, which will herald new leadership in the city, around the corner, leading contenders are promising to give the city further facelift.
In his campaigns Igathe has committed to address challenges of water supply, uncollected garbage, broken sewerage system, clogged drainage, unending traffic gridlocks, a dysfunctional public transport service and uncontrolled urban development. “I will be focusing on those things that residents have been complaining about for a long time, my priority is to relieve them of the pain they undergo while trying to eke a livelihood,” said Igathe.
On his part, Sakaja is promising to make the city an economic hub where the cost of doing business will be pocket-friendly with a single e-license.
“My administration will ensure there is a one-stop shop for investors to get information about the county, its master plan, and what is needed to do business. We will have one e-license that’s easily accessible,” pledged Sakaja.
Traders complain of being asked to obtain several licenses — a requirement they insist increase the cost of doing businesses.
But it remains to be seen whether Igathe and Sakaja are serious about their pledges. 
Politicians, leaders and administrators who have come before them made similar promises to make Nairobi, which was founded in 1899, better.
From 380,000 people by 1965, the city population now stands at about 4.3 million people according to 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census (KPHC) carried out by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
The high population is exerting pressure on the existing physical facilities such as housing, road network, sewerage lines and water supply infrastructure. Constant rural-urban migration has further added stress on an already dire situation.
Mairura Omwenga, an urban planner, says Nairobi will only reclaim its tag of the ‘Green City in the Sun’ if residents hold leaders to account.
“It is the leadership that can transform this city; regrettably we as residents don’t bother putting to task the people will elect into officers. When they pledge to deliver, out duty should be to hold them to account,” says Mairura.
According to the lecturer at University of Nairobi, NIUPLAN never took off due to lack of political goodwill to implement ideas in the document.
“Most of the time we prepare plans but rarely implement them; this also implies to policies and laws. We are very weak in implementing the plans, policies and laws we make,” notes Mairura who is also chairman, Town and County Planners Association of Kenya.
In his view, NIUPLAN’s concepts on land use and human settlements were superb since there was a proposal on the need to stop expansion of slums along rivers, roads and railways.
When Mike Sonko was sworn into officer after succeeding Dr Kidero, he promised to transform the capital city by prioritising reliable water supply, well-maintained roads, better healthcare and a proper sewage system.
“I have never made a promise that I never kept, and this day I wish to give you my personal assurance. Nairobi will never be the same again from today,” pledged Sonko after taking oath on August 20, 2017 in a ceremony graced by President Uhuru Kenyatta. The going soon got tough for the governor as he caught entangled in fights with MCAs. Three years later, Sonko was impeached.