Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja /HANDOUT
Nairobi Governor Sakaja Johnson has stepped up the city’s preparations for the anticipated El Niño rains by rolling out a raft of measures including accelerated drainage works, deployment of additional heavy machinery.
The governor also issued a 14-day deadline for engineers and contractors, and a waiver on approvals for minor building repairs.
Sakaja has directed Nairobi City County and Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) engineers and contractors to complete critical drainage and road works within 14 days, with priority given to known flood hotspots.
Speaking at Barabara Plaza after meeting KURA Director-General Silas Kinoti, engineers and contractors, the governor said the works must be treated as a life-saving intervention.
“You are not just doing work; you are saving lives. Your focus must be to work more, do more and, ultimately, save more lives,” Sakaja said.
Kinoti assured the governor that engineers had been assigned specific areas and would intensify drainage works over the next two weeks.
The county has also deployed more earth-moving equipment to flood hotspots, including the critical drainage corridor from the KIRDI/Bellevue axis to the main outfall along Mombasa Road, where teams are widening, deepening and desilting drainage channels.
Ongoing drainage works along riparian land /HANDOUT
Sakaja has meanwhile waived application and approval requirements for minor building repairs until the onset of the rains, allowing residents to install gutters and undertake minor works on their homes and compounds without the usual approvals.
The governor has also intensified the crackdown on illegal dumping, warning private waste collectors that licences will be withdrawn if they are found dumping waste in open spaces or waterways.
Nairobi’s preparedness operation is being coordinated through a “One County, One Plan, One Command” approach involving the County Government, KURA, KeNHA, KeRRA, Kenya Red Cross and Nairobi Rivers Commission, among other agencies.
The county has established an Emergency Operations Centre, activated emergency hotline 1508, and identified 27 drop-off points and shelters for possible evacuations.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja /HANDOUT
A multi-agency simulation exercise is also planned to test the city’s emergency response systems.
Sakaja has urged residents in riparian and flood-prone areas to relocate to safer locations and called on Nairobians to take early measures, including clearing drainage channels around their homes and installing gutters.
“We cannot wait for the rains to come before we act. We must be proactive and address the challenges we know lie ahead,” he said.
