Nairobi, Kenya: David Gachuru, Chairman of Nairobi County Business District Association (NCBDA) answers questions about the city.

By Wangeci Kanyeki

1.  How can we improve the ease of doing business in Nairobi?

Instead of the hassle of multiple licences from different authorities, we can encourage a single licence for investors to shorten the process. 

However, there should be a risk analysis done before approvals to ensure that investors create employment in the country, do not kill our local industries and will generate income that is not repugnant to our natural justice and set systems. 

In conjunction with the government, Nairobi County Business District Association (NCBDA) is advocating installing of CCTVs, which will create a sense of security and keep a record of crimes in action. 

However, for the CCTVs to be effective, the jurisdiction has to be seen to be effectively taking action on lawbreakers.

2. What new ideas are possible for Nairobi?

One major street can be reformed into a recreational walking street where citizens can shop relax, and have open-air restaurants. This would significantly increase the social status of the city.

In the long term, underpasses can then be created for people to exit the city without returning and crisscrossing the city.

Our three stadiums tend to be dead space most of the time. Recreation and commercial centres should be opened within the stadiums so that they are always busy even where there is no football match.  

With political will and civic education, a good master plan for Nairobi should transform the city through achievable short to medium to long-term goals. History will judge us harshly if we do not do anything about our city.

3. NCBDA changed its name with the coming of the devolved government, when was it formed?

The association was started in 1997 as The Nairobi Central Business District Association by a group of business and corporate leaders who wanted to address the issues affecting the business community in the Nairobi central business district.

The issues included traffic congestion, insecurity, street families, garbage and infrastructural issues. 

Last year, the association was rebranded to Nairobi County Business District Association to accommodate the business community’s interest across the Nairobi County.

 

4.  What is the association’s mandate?

Through its corporate members the association deals with advocacy issues of the business district in Nairobi County through identification, providing solutions or escalating matters to the proper channels.  The interests of smaller businesses are taken into consideration through representatives of small medium entreprises and Sacco societies. 

The devolved government has defined our mandate to county level whereas before we had a focus on the business centrals district. 

During my tenure, I hope to look at Nairobi’s social and economic well being 50 to 100 years from now and work with teams to establish practical working documents to be used in making the blue print master plans for the city.

5. What possible solutions do you have for traffic and human congestion, hawkers and street families?

The city can be divided into zones and have upcountry buses terminating their journey in the outer zones. 

Efficient speed buses could transport the people to and from the central business district. We are in discussions with other partners on how to provide alternatives for hawkers without brutalising them as well as working with the county government to look for long-term legislative solutions. 

However, in the meantime, there are opportunities for the society to provide alternatives to the street children by offering shelter, food and educational programmes that will keep them busy with skills.

6. How does your role differ from that of the county government of Nairobi?

We partner with the county government of Nairobi to achieve our objectives and our recommendations are sent to the Nairobi governor. 

NCBDA has a multi-faceted focus on the interests of the business community, while the governor is administrative overall in charge of Nairobi.

7. What do you think is the reason for the increasing parking fees in the CBD?

The purpose is to reduce cars and de-congest the city.  However for that to work efficiently, there must be effective alternative functioning transport systems that keeps time, does not inconvenience people, is safe and comfortable. 

Estate communities can help in further decongesting the Central Business District by incorporating proper commercial support mechanisms with amenities such as schools, supermarkets, banks and hospitals.

This would reduce a need to come into the CBD to find jobs or crossing over the city to drop children in schools. 

8. Businesses have moved out of central business district to the environs, which were formerly residential areas such as Upper Hill and Hurlingham.  Can the infrastructure there support these developments?

Businesses moved out of CBD because of congestion and productive time lost looking for parking bays.

These businesses are getting tax benefits when they construct a building on the environs of central business district. 

If the urban planners of the city had predicted that the financial hubs would move to these environs, then the infrastructure could have been part of the masterplan. 

As it is, the roads, water, power and sewerage are being accommodated to factor in the new changes. It’s complicated but it will eventually fall into place as more solutions are sought. Already, Sasumwa Dam has been enlarged and is feeding water into the city. 

9. What is the way forward?

We would like to give the big corporate incentives to remain in the CBD such as lower land rents and tax incentives as they contribute significantly to GDP and create a multiplier effect by offering greater support to other businesses such as hotels, banks and supermarkets.

10. Which city in the world platform do you admire most and why?

Beijing; it had challenges similar to Nairobi’s yet they managed to rehabilitate their unplanned old city, retained its history by expanding it and put up modern structures around the city.

In the same way, Nairobi should not knock down its historical structures. Historical places such as Kariokor market can be rehabilitated without killing their history.