City county deserves more, Mr Governor

It is said a guilty conscience needs no accuser. Now, the once bitten and twice shy residents of Nairobi were dismayed to see their Governor Evans Kidero fumbling on purported gains made by his administration in the past four years.

In a big interview headlined “I’ve scored many firsts for Nairobi County” and carried in The Standard on Sunday, the Governor struggled to identify a single big achievement he can run away with. He simply couldn’t place a finger on any one of them, and understandably so. None exists!

His attempt to bandy around purported gains in improved security, improved healthcare, improved education and better infrastructure was at best laughable and worst insulting to city residents.

His attempt to cover up for his failures using an explanation that the development projects were scattered and far apart did not wash. Instead, it goes on to prove he has done very little that can be felt wholesomely.

So was his attempt to belittle the utility of the Sh1.2 billion the county collects a month and his bemoaning of “little” revenue allocation the county gets from the national government. It all left every impression of a governor drowning in his own failures and clutching on straws for his own survival.

Governor Kidero was elected on a platform of upsetting the old order of running City Hall, which was beholden to cartels, corruption, filth, chaos and all manner of ills. For the first time, city residents rose beyond the traditional ethnic and party considerations and rallied behind him. He created this wave about him that he was the ‘dawa’ Nairobi needed to prosper.

His worthy opponents Ferdinand Waititu and banker Jimna Mbaru lost the race to Kidero’s well-packaged campaign, which resonated well with the people. His bountiful promises captured the hearts and minds of the people.

Four years later, Kidero has disappointed everyone, including himself, with a dismal and underwhelming performance. The failures start with the very basic; cleanliness.

Apart from the expensive grass he planted on the main highway straddling the city, Kidero’s government has failed to clean the city. In the interview he appeared to blame the courts over his failure to collect garbage from city estates and streets.

Nairobi is at its worst in terms of cleanliness. Foul smell confronts you every time you venture inside estates, especially in the Eastlands part of the city where he reaped most from. His government has refused to plant new trees to give Nairobi a fresh breath of life, yet the old palm trees are dying off.

Simple things such as signage have suddenly become difficult. County-run schools and other facilities have not received a fresh coat of paint for the past four years since devolution was implemented.

But the biggest war Kidero has is with the city business people.

Despite doubling, in some situations tripling, the rates and levies payable to the county government, he has nothing to show for that increase in terms of improved services.

There is no improvement of parking facilities and security of cars despite parking charges being increased by more than 100 per cent in his tenure.

Sewers block every fortnight. His failure to accommodate hawkers has left shop-owners under siege as they sell their wares outside their doors.

I do not need to remind Nairobians of the stunning failure of the county government in delivering on a decent public transport system. It looks like he has thrown his hands in the air and abdicated his responsibility of giving Nairobians decent choices.

Last but not least, Kidero has failed to improve governance at City Hall. Corruption cartels are back and more emboldened.

Tenders are doctored and one has snowball in hell’s chance of clinching a tender unless they part with a certain percentage or become part of the cartel.

I can go on and on. The long and short of it is that Kidero has failed the foremost city in the republic.

Only the vote will save the city from teetering back into the ignominy of yesteryears. What has gone around will come around in 2017!