There is nothing wrong with cows grazing in Nairobi

Dr David Nkedianye, an ecologist by training, is the Governor of Kajiado, home to Kenya’s richest constituency. He spoke to PETERSON GITHAIGA about the railway passing through Nairobi Park, the Ongata Rongai traffic jam and the councillors who ‘ate’ everything

Many Maasais in county have sold almost all f their land to developers and are now  landless. How are you dealing with this?

My administration has really tried to stop this. Nonetheless, I always wonder why investors carelessly sink their money in rackets where fake title deeds are involved. There have been many reported cases of sale of non-existent land, double allocations and fraudulent acquisition of land, unless of course these investors are part of the criminal enterprise. By putting in place systems for legit land transactions, we are paving way for genuine investors while keeping away fraudsters, exploiters and speculators.

The cattle that graze in Nairobi are mostly from your county. What are the issues?

I don’t see anything wrong with that. There is no pasture for the cows due to the current drought in our county, and if pasture can be found in the city, why not graze there?

That should not be a problem as long as the herders don’t destroy private property. We have also requested the Kenya Wildlife Service to allow the community to graze animals in the parks when the drought is severe.

Kajiado North is the ‘richest’ constituency in Kenya, probably because of the Ngong, Ongata Rongai and Kitengela suburbs, whose economy is mainly driven by Nairobians. But the interior of your county is extremely poor. What is your plan?

The people of mashinani worked flat out to elect me and I have done a lot for them. You have to appreciate that when I became governor, the urban constituencies were well-off but the standards of living in the remote parts of the county were appalling. That is why my concentration in rural areas is very high.

I have managed to expand the health sector, as well as fix some roads. Visit the place and you will not believe it.

As an ecologist, what is your view of the SGR railway cutting through the Nairobi National Park?

It is unfortunate that the national government could not route the railway outside the park. It is a big mistake to let the railway pass through the park. The noise will disrupt wildlife and their habitat in general.

There are claims that Ongata Rongai does not have a single public primary school or a playground. Are there any plans to fix this?

When I took over the leadership of this county, I found it in a total mess. Councillors in the now defunct county council had grabbed almost everything. However, all is not lost. My administration is still trying to repossess and reclaim some of the public land that was grabbed so that we can build some of these social amenities.

Kiserian Dam, which was launched by President Kibaki, was supposed to solve the perennial water shortage problem in Rongai. What is the situation currently?

We have had a big challenge with this dam because it’s under the national government. Every time we try to intervene, we are repulsed by the national government because it is under their jurisdiction. As such, our hands are tied and there is nothing we can do about the project.

How can the infamous Ongata Rongai jam be dealt with?

First, I need to make it clear that the traffic jam in Ongata Rongai affects all the residents of Kajiado. Ongata Rongai is the second gateway to Nairobi from our county. But even on this matter, our hands are tied because the road falls under the national government which is supposed to expand the main road and to control notorious motorists who break the law.

During the last General Election, you were elected on a Cord ticket, but you have been accused of keeping quiet on national issues that affect the country...

I’m in Cord fully because I am convinced that it is the right political party. This county is large. We have many challenges, not only in politics, but in other issues related to development as well.

I decided to concentrate on development first. But you must recall that I recently led Cord’s campaigns for the Mosiro civic ward, which we recaptured in spite of spirited campaigns from Jubilee.

President Kibaki ‘gave’ Amboseli National Park back to the people of Kajiado. How did that story end?

It is very sad that leaders of this county have been fighting for this park to be managed by the county government without success. This started with the Olkejiuado County Council, long before I became governor. However, former president Mwai Kibaki gave a direction that the park be handed over to the people of Kajiado. The order has not been implemented for reasons we don’t know.

Why are you defending your seat?

I made a covenant with the county’s electorate to deliver on certain pledges. Almost all the projects I promised have been initiated. All I need now is a second and final term to fully implement them, as well as time to initiate more for my successor to carry on from where I would have left.

You mean it is impossible to complete projects within a five-year term?

This situation where a governor requires more than one term to execute projects to completion is not unique to Kajiado. You realise that our term in office will be short by one year. Kenya’s electoral cycle is five years, but the circumstances preceding the 2013 elections make our term short by a year. Further, it will be appreciated that we’re the pioneers of the devolved system.

Every new order or system comes with teething problems at the start. Like a newborn baby, the devolved units had to crawl before they could walk. Any honest governor will tell you that even after inauguration of county governments in April 2013, we spent the rest of the year on the transition process and were never quite in charge. It is the Transitional Authority that was in control.

In addition, wading through the mud left behind by the defunct local authorities wasn’t easy. It had to take us months of clearing their foggy mess to get our bearings right.

There has also been the unending tussle with the national government over timely release of funds allocated to county governments. In my county, we have so many incomplete, stalled or pending projects, simply because allocations from Nairobi took long to come, and when they did, the cash came in bits. It is for these reasons that I feel I deserve five more years to complete the great journey we started with the people of Kajiado five years ago.

Your last word?

I appeal to those who will be contesting for various political seats in 2017 to conduct peaceful campaigns and carry themselves with decorum. Elections come and go, but the people of Kenya must remain united.