Sonko woos Nairobi residents with ambitious manifesto

Nairobi Senator and gubernatorial aspirant Mike Sonko on Sunday, July 23, launched his manifesto for Nairobi County in a bid to unseat incumbent Governor Evans Kidero.

The senator has on numerous occasions faulted Governor Kidero of letting down capital city residents, saying they have nothing to show in terms of development projects and improved service delivery even after billions of shillings have been pumped into the county coffers since advent of devolution in 2013.

Sonko anchored his manifesto on seven pledges that he intends to implement his first five-year term if he is elected on August 8.

The pillars include addressing the transport and traffic challenges bedeviling the city, water shortage, sanitation and garbage collection, health, safety and security, unemployment and wealth creation, youth and women empowerment, good governance as well as housing and settlement.

The senator promised to light up all pedestrians’ sidewalks on all roads within Nairobi as well as implement the Nairobi Metropolitan Traffic Decongestion Plan in the Central Business District.

The plan to decongest the city includes building four Main Park and ride stations to serve private motorists who use Thika Road, Mombasa Road, Ngong Road and Waiyaki Way, and removal of on-street parking and introducing multi-storey and sunken car parks and designate specific drop and pick up points for public service vehicles.

“We are living in a private-car choked city due to failure and chaos in mass public transport system. We suffer low road density and potholed narrow roads in very many areas of the city. Lastly there is utter disregard for pedestrians and cyclists’ walkways whilst they contribute 50 per cent of traffic. Zero focus on Non-motorized traffic, I will consider these problems,” said Sonko.

The Jubilee candidate said that his administration will look to introduce a new environment friendly way of engineering dumpsites that will lead to methane gas collection to power electricity generating plants. Street families will also be mobilized through SACCOS to be used to collect garbage and in turn earn a livelihood.

Acknowledging that health is a devolved function, the Sonko-Igathe team intends to hire more doctors, absorb practicing interns into the system, invest in constructing of health centers especially in Embakasi, Kibra and Dagoretti areas and motivating-  by providing incentives- medical practitioners to promote healthcare services in Nairobi.

The Sonko-Igathe team has accused Governor Kidero of neglecting the common business people, insisting that they will embark on increasing the number of markets especially in Embakasi, Dagoretti and Kasarani areas  so that small traders may have adequate platform to sell their products, as well as introduce county reforms that will improve the business environment.

“Nairobi today is a hostile, difficult place to do business. Painful to acquire construction permits, register property, enforce contracts, connect electricity, secure property & intellectual rights etc. All these erode productivity which is the ultimate manifestation of competitiveness leading to lack of jobs and value destruction for investors,” said Sonko’s running-mate Polycarp Igathe.

Local artists will benefit most if Sonko becomes the next Nairobi County boss, the Jubilee duo promised to fight for the passing of a bill that ensures 60 percent local content airplay on our radio and TV stations so as to secure and assure income for Kenyans artists.

With Sonko sharing the school of thought that the youth and women are the backbone of a country’s economy, his government will allocate a quarter of county tenders to youth, women and persons with disabilities so as to create more jobs for them.

“One out of three people in Nairobi are below the age of 19. And over 75 per cent of the population is below 35 years. Majority of them being women, the youthful demographic ought to be an opportunity not a risk. Nairobi requires PWD compliant infrastructure and buildings, Over 1000 new primary schools and over 200 secondary schools. Private greed at City Hall has ensured perennial under-investment in women & youth affairs. PWDs, the homeless and the old have been left way behind,” added Sonko.

If voted in August, Governor Sonko said he will be looking forward to work with the ward representatives so that a legislation that will see county government give investors’ incentives is passed to further lower the cost of housing in order to the benefit of the common mwananchi.

“Building trust with the community by implementing a shelter for the homeless committee which will work with community based groups from informal settlements on issues of low cost housing,” Sonko’s promised in his manifesto.