Fighting Covid-19 takes most of Nyoro’s first 100 days in office

Kiambu Governor James Nyoro (pictured centre) has marked 100 days in office since taking over from his impeached former boss Ferdinand Waititu.

And depending on who you speak to, Mr Nyoro, who took over from Waititu at the end of January, has either made progress or delivered little.

But the governor himself says he has achieved a lot especially in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic in the three months he has been at the helm, considering he had no cabinet or a public service board. “Our guns are squarely trained on combating the coronavirus and the immediate task was to ensure all our hospitals were prepared to deal with the pandemic,” Nyoro told The Standard in an interview.

Political bickering

Before he took over, the county had been haunted by poor leadership, egoism and political bickering that put service provision and infrastructural development to the back burner.

There were allegations of misappropriation of millions of shillings for which Waititu is currently battling in court.

Nevertheless, Nyoro’s critics say so far, he has not made substantial change of fortunes for Kiambu residents.

Kiambu Town Ward MCA Anthony Ikonya questioned Nyoro’s style of leadership, painting a picture of a governor not popular with the people.

“The governor’s 100 days in office were taken over by the pandemic, but this and the floods being experienced in Kiambu County need people-oriented solutions, not boardroom meetings where officers take notes,” he said.

But Kahawa Sukari MCA Livingstone Waiganjo said Nyoro has achieved a lot and his administration is in the process of clearing pending bills and re-organising the bloated work force.

“There was duplication of duties and we have sorted out this issue, we have also managed to collect Sh3.3 billion in revenue from the previous Sh2.6 billion but this has now been badly hit by the pandemic,” he said.

Nyoro said the county government has trained 1,700 medical personnel to handle Covid-19 patients and equipped them with personal protective equipment (PPEs). “Our medical personnel have worked extremely hard in creating awareness and ensuring the virus does not spread. We have enough N95 and surgical masks as well as pharmaceutical and non- pharmaceutical items for Covid-19 related conditions,” he said. Besides this, he said many stalled projects including road construction works had been revived under his administration.

And while opinion on his achievements is divided, some residents say the governor should be given ample time to deliver.

Hooliganism

“This is a sober governor, we can see there is no hooliganism, flamboyancy and disorganisation like we experienced in the other regime,” Kariuki Waihenya, a resident, said.

Kariuki said the MCAs should also not hold the governor hostage but allow him to deliver.