Mudavadi defends cooperation framework between govt and Nairobi county

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi while appearing before the Senate’s Devolution Committee on March 30, 2026. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has defended the newly signed  cooperation agreement between the national government and Nairobi City County Government.

Mudavadi said the agreement was not a transfer of functions but a structured cooperation framework aimed at addressing Nairobi’s unique challenges as the capital city.

He noted that while the government is chairing the programme, the implementation part of it is bestored on the county government.

“We have entered into an agreement whose strategic purpose, captured under clause two, is to establish a framework for cooperation between the national government and the Nairobi County Government to enhance coordinated planning, financing and implementation,” he said.

“The difference is that this is a cooperation agreement and not a transfer of functions. The NMS was a transfer of functions this one is purely around coordination.”

Mudavadi said the programme is expected to cost about Sh80 billion, which the national government plans to support over the two-year period through joint initiatives with the county government.

Among the proposed interventions are improvements in water and sanitation, the installation of 50,000 street lights, road and bridge upgrades, expansion of markets and urban infrastructure, flood resilience projects, environmental restoration and enhanced security across the Nairobi metropolitan region.

He was speaking while appearing before the Senate’s Devolution Committee to explain the details of the 24-month cooperation framework that seeks to coordinate development programmes in the capital.

Senators have raised concerns, demanding clarity on how the deal was structured, its impact on service delivery, and whether it could mirror the controversial arrangement that created the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS).

Lawmakers said while Nairobi requires urgent interventions as the country’s capital, the agreement raised legal, financial and governance questions, particularly around accountability and the settlement of pending bills left behind by NMS.

The previous arrangement under NMS was created in 2020 after key county functions were transferred to the national government. While the entity oversaw major infrastructure upgrades, it left behind pending bills estimated at about Sh15 billion, sparking complaints from contractors who are still awaiting payment.

During the hearing, senators questioned whether the new framework would lead to a similar outcome.

Kiambu Senator Karungo Thang’wa argued that the arrangement appeared to replicate a transfer of functions despite assurances that it was merely a cooperation mechanism.

“When I see it from different angles I see this is the transfer of functions. You are proposing to implement Article 187 of the Constitution without agreeing that you are implementing it. There is funding, coordination and implementation of projects all this amounts to taking over the functions of the county government,” he said.

Thang’wa also questioned whether the cooperation agreement would address the Sh15 billion pending bills left by NMS and warned that counties could face similar liabilities at the end of the programme.

“This is another NMS with a good structure. NMS left a pending bill of Sh15 billion. Is this cooperation looking into that pending bill? And are we going to experience the same at the end of the tenure?” he asked.

Nominated Senator Catherine Mumma also raised concerns about the process that led to the signing of the agreement, saying public participation appeared to have been conducted after the deal had already been concluded.

“We were concerned because the agreement was signed and went public before proper public participation was done. It was being done post-facto, which is an untidy way of doing agreements,” she said.

Mumma, however, acknowledged that such an agreement was anticipated under the Urban Areas and Cities Act, noting that previous Nairobi administrations had failed to implement the provision.

“My reading of the agreement, particularly clause seven on financing, is vague. The governor told us the county had raised Sh8 billion, but we do not know where that Sh8 billion is,” she added.

Mudavadi said Nairobi’s status as the country’s capital and economic hub justified additional national government support.

“Nairobi accounts for about 60 percent of our GDP as a country. We cannot continue treating Nairobi the way we have treated it in the past,” he said.

He added that the agreement establishes a joint steering committee  chaired by his office and deputised by Johnson Sakaja, while an implementation committee led by the governor will oversee day-to-day execution of projects.

The senators also questioned how the funds under the framework would be managed and what role the county assembly would play in overseeing projects funded largely by the national government.

On pending bills, Mudavadi said the issue was being handled separately by a committee chaired by former Auditor-General Edward Ouko, which is reviewing liabilities across public entities.