Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has described the recent intervention by President William Ruto and the late ODM leader Raila Odinga in his impeachment matter as a strong vote of confidence in his leadership.
Speaking on Wednesday, October 15, he said the involvement of the two top political leaders demonstrated their understanding of the city’s challenges and their willingness to support his administration in addressing them.
Sakaja noted that the decision by Ruto and Raila Odinga to step in was not only timely but also a clear indication that they trust his ability to lead and transform the county.
"Because of our great interactions they understand the challenges that we have; Raila Odinga has been an MP for over 20 years in the city and he knows, he could see the challenge that the city had and can then intervene.
"The intervention was a good vote of confidence by the top political leadership in this country that this is our guy; that work with him. The contrary would be, 'get rid of that guy quickly'," he said.
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At the same time, Sakaja refuted claims that he is planning to hand over some county functions to the national government.
He said the move would be a repeat of the defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS), which he said was ‘disastrous’.
"There are no functions that are going to be transferred to the national government. The last time that happened during the previous regime it ended up disastrously," he said.
Sakaja noted that NMS left pending bills worth Ksh16 billion despite being allocated Ksh27 billion by the Nairobi County Assembly.
"You can imagine that in two years, NMS left us a pending bill of Ks16 billion, and you know the revenue that was being collected at that time. The County Assembly had appropriated Sh27 billion to the same entity, and the National Assembly also appropriated money to it, and despite that, they still left a hole of Ksh16 billion," he added.
Sakaja explained that the ongoing discussions with the national government are outlined in the Urban Areas and Cities Act.
According to the governor, Nairobi requires close cooperation with the national government, as it also serves as the capital city and is a diplomatic hub.
“What the city requires is what is provided for in the Urban Areas and Cities Act. If you look at section 6, it talks about a collaboration. Because Nairobi is also the capital city, it’s a city of the national government, a diplomatic hub, and there are areas where you can collaborate with the national government,” he further said.
