Dismal services annoy Nairobi residents

Residents of the Nairobi's Tassia estate expressed their anger regarding the poor state of the roads and broken sewarage in their estate.

 

Nairobi residents have urged the county government to outsource some services as a way to address the city’s problems.

Through the Kenya Alliance of Residents Associations (KARA), the residents yesterday put Governor Evans Kidero on the spot over poor services.

They cited uncontrolled development, land grabbing, illegal infrastructure, poor roads and traffic jams, high land rates, noise pollution, and water shortage as some of the major concerns in the city.

The residents were concerned that little has been done to address the poor living and working environment in Nairobi ahead of the August 8 elections.

“The city and a number of estates in the county have not seen development in very many years. Open spaces are being grabbed while kiosks and illegal structures are being put up in an irregular manner,” said Mr Henry Ochieng, the KARA chief executive officer.

OUTSOURCE SERVICES

The official complained that land meant for playgrounds, schools, and even hospitals has been grabbed in the recent past. He faulted the city administration for failing to enforce laws governing public land.

There are currently 1,800 open spaces in the county. Institutions such as Kamukunji Secondary, Our Lady of Mercy Schoo,  and High Ridge Dispensary have moved to court after their land was allegedly grabbed.

Ochieng called on Kidero to outsource services such as garbage collection and provision of water. He said involvement of the private sector will make service delivery more efficient.

“In areas such as Westlands, residents used to receive water at least four times in a week but now they only get it once in a week or at times none,” he added.

Kidero yesterday said there was lack of coordination between his government and the National Land Commission (NLC), hence the grabbing of land and building of illegal structures. He claimed that half of the files at the NLC could not be traced because the officials were involved in shady deals.