After their attempts to unlawfully transfer functions of the Nairobi County Government to the National Government hit a snag owing to the resistance by Okiya Omtatah, Karani and the Senate, Mike Sonko and Uhuru Kenyatta are not trying to appeal to play with Kenyans heads.
The PR won’t work because, it is only after the Senate announced that it will launch an inquiry into the takeover did Jubilee announce that it has set aside some dates for public participation.
Below is the full statement from Mike Mbuvi Sonko who is trying to continue playing the same tune of explaining the inexplicable subversion of the Constitution.
He posted this on his Twitter and Facebook pages at 1 am this morning.
STATEMENT BY NAIROBI GOVERNOR, HIS EXCELLENCY MIKE MBUVI SONKO, REGARDING THE HANDING OVER FUNCTIONS OF THE NAIROBI COUNTY GOVERNMENT TO THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
Ever since I took over the leadership of Nairobi City County as the Second Governor, my overriding agenda has been to ensure that residents of Nairobi receive efficient and effective public services.
In this respect, we as a County Government have developed and rolled out several programmes across the city that have significantly changed how key services are delivered.
However, unlike other Counties, Nairobi being our nation’s seat of power and the country’s commercial capital, its needs are unique and calls for greater partnerships with other stakeholders, key among them being the National Government.
To address the unique needs of Nairobi City County, my Government set out on a fact finding mission that saw us benchmark and take lessons from other jurisdictions across the world including Washington DC in the US and Abuja in Nigeria.
From these case studies, we established that cities and metropolis, the size of Nairobi, are best served jointly by devolved units and Central Governments.
Equipped with this knowledge, and in my capacity as the Governor, I initiated discussions with the National Government with a view of finding a sustainable approach to service delivery that leverages both on the County and National resources and competencies.
It is this consultative process that led to the crafting of the historic and comprehensive agreement that we signed yesterday handing over the management of some of the functions of Nairobi County Government to the National Government.
As a County Government, we are convinced that the agreement signed yesterday will not only help enhance service delivery in the city but will also reposition Nairobi as the economic hub of the region.
As the County Government of Nairobi, we remain committed to continue serving the people of our great county by focusing more keenly on the functions and service areas that are not covered in our agreement with the National Government.
As part of this renewed agenda and purpose, my Government will ensure that Nairobi regains its famed status as the “Green City in the Sun” among other targets that we have set for ourselves.
We believe our bold decision to collaborate with the National Government through the transfer of some of our functions will create a positive governance precedence that will help strengthen devolution.
I thank His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta and the Jubilee Administration for the commitment they have shown in ensuring that the people of Nairobi get the best services from their Government.
HON. MIKE MBUVI SONKO
GOVERNOR OF NAIROBI CITY COUNTY
