Africa-Press – Kenya. President William Ruto and Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja will this afternoon oversee the signing of a cooperation agreement between the two levels of government.
State House sent an invite to media house to cover the event that will see the two centres of government ink the deal to jointly handle development and service delivery projects.
The agreement seeks to improve service delivery in the capital city with the two levels working together in line with section 5 and 6 of the Urban Areas and Cities Act. Senator Edwin Sifuna warned that any pact entered between the two must comply with the constitution that guarantees autonomy to counties.
“The governor of Nairobi assured us he wasn’t transferring any functions to the national government. I’m surprised to see a scheduled signing ceremony at State House this afternoon,” he said.
“I remind Governor Sakaja to be mindful of the provisions of the constitution and the need for involvement of the electorate and the leadership of Nairobi prior to making such decisions. Any unconstitutional clawback to devolution shall be strenuously resisted.”
Last week, Sakaja told MCAs during the State of the County address, the current pact is different from the era of the defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS), where ex-Governor Mike Sonko surrendered some functions to the national government.
“Members, I honour the mandate given to me by the people of Nairobi. They entrusted me with constitutional powers to transform this city and I will not betray that trust,” he told the MCAs. In 2020, Sakaja said Nairobi experienced a misadventure that resulted in Sh16 billion in pending bills.
“The functions bestowed upon the county of Nairobi by the constitution shall remain the functions of the county. We shall not transfer any county functions. However, collaboration with the national government will continue. For those who think otherwise, they are free to look for another county and another governor, not Sakaja Johnson,” he said.
He said the agreement will have the national government support some county projects and functions, but stressed that this does not constitute a transfer of authority.
“Nairobi is not just a county but a capital city. Collaboration with the national government is inevitable and encouraged. But, in the words of the former Prime Minister and father of devolution, Raila Odinga, we must protect devolution, the greatest gift given to the people of Kenya by our constitution,” he said.
“We are pursuing procedures under the Urban Areas and Cities Act to enhance infrastructure support. But Nairobi will continue to be governed as a county government under the law. Those who have been hoping that the misadventure under NMS will happen again in Nairobi should look for another county and find another governor. This Governor, Johnson Sakaja, shall never go in that direction.”
During its tenure, NMS oversaw rehabilitation of several major roads, installation of new streetlights, refurbishment of health centres and expansion of intensive care capacity during the Covid-19 pandemic.
It also undertook market upgrades and worked on decongesting parts of the city. Supporters credited it with restoring a measure of order and accelerating stalled infrastructure projects.
