Nairobi City needs Ksh 30 billion for Infrastructure

By John Harry Ndeta, Ajabu Africa News

NAIROBI, Kenya, MARCH 24_Nairobi Metropolis is seeking Sh 30 billion in 2010 to improve infrastructure and services delivery within the city.

The Minister in charge, Robinson Njeru Githae has said most of the money would go into equipping the Nairobi Councils with basic amenities required of a world-class Metropolis in the 21st Century.

Metropolitan regions in most Third World Nations are characterized by poor service delivery, inaccessible networks, inadequate capital investments and high operating and maintenance costs for business enterprises among other factors.

“We want all 15 local authorities in the metropolis to have ambulances, firefighting equipment, refuse trucks, street lighting with good roads among other things’ the Minister said.

 One of the biggest challenges Nairobi faces today is poor water and sewerage system which is not only expensive but also plagued with logistical problems.

Githae also told Members of Parliament in the Metropolis to submit budgets for their requirements to the ministry with a view of being assisted especially in infrastructure development.

The growths of metropolitan regions in the twentieth century, both the number and populations of large metropolitan regions, have increased dramatically during the last century.

Those with more than one million people, for instance, grew fourfold between 1950 and 2000 to number nearly four hundred, and now accommodate over a billion people, or one in five of the world’s population (United Nations, 1995).

  He added that Kenya’s development partners have shown interest in investing in the metropolis and offering financial and technical assistance.

Nairobi , the capital city of Kenya

 Githae was speaking in Athi River, in the outskirts of Nairobi over the weekend where he held a clean-up exercise and donated wheelbarrows and modern brooms to the local council.

The ceremony was also attended by the Mavoko municipal Council Mayor Patrick Makau.

“My Ministry has set aside every third Saturday of the month for cleaning exercises that takes place in all 15 Metro-local authorities,” said Githae. He observed that environmental sustainability is a key millennium development goal and major components of the Nairobi Metropolitan Development Strategy, ‘Metro 2013’.

The minister said Nairobi metropolis is a significant economic, political and socio-cultural center for Kenya and the entire East African region.

“As we speak today, Nairobi is an important hub for regional or international connections and communications,”

Githae said. As such, the minister observed that solid waste management need to be improved with the swelling population and growing Importance of Nairobi City in the region and the continent at large.

Historically, Metropolitan regions are conglomerate of independent local authorities each with individual service delivery mechanisms.