The Director of Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) Mohammed Badi has said he is a happy man as he and his team hand over functions back to the Nairobi County Government today.

After two years of steering service delivery in the city, Lt. General Badi says he returns to the barracks fully satisfied that he has achieved the purpose for which President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed him.

“I am happy to report that NMS has accomplished all the tasks given to do within the two years. We shall hand over the functions back to the county government with our heads held high,” says Badi.

The ceremony at which Badi will hand over key functions to Governor Johnson Sakaja will mark the end of a tumultuous yet fruitful journey under his stewardship.

The establishment of NMS in 2020 stemmed from wrangles that had paralysed operations at the County government owing to a standoff between then Governor Mike Sonko and Members of the County Assembly (MCAs).

The wrangles were aggravated by a financial crisis due to low revenue collection and alleged cartels looting the county’s coffers.

In a year beset by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, President Kenyatta intervened and set up NMS.

City cartels

It took over the functions of Health, Transport, Public Works and Planning and Development Services.

After the signing of a deed of transfer of functions between the Nairobi County Government and the national government, NMS got down to work.

With military precision, Badi hit the ground running, and it was not long before NMS’ fingerprints – from road repair projects to trucks delivering water to slum residents – were visible in many parts of the capital.

Among Badi’s brief was to dismantle cartels whose vice-like grip on City Hall had made service delivery almost impossible, streamline urban renewal projects such as housing in Pangani and Bachelors Jevanjee and implement the Nairobi Railway master plan.

It was also expected to streamline the issuance of building approvals and licences, decongest the city, tackle the garbage menace and operationalise non-motorised transport goals such as the installation of walkways.

Its other task was to reform water and sanitation sectors, sewerage, health and roads.

In his quest to deliver as much as possible in a short time, Badi soon found himself on a collision course with Sonko.

The Governor, who would later be impeached, accused NMS of implementing the transfer deed in an “atrocious and repugnant manner”.

In an act of defiance, Sonko refused to approve a supplementary budget allocating Sh15 billion to NMS.

This prompted a back-and-forth fight between the two and set in motion a bitter rivalry.

Garbage menace

Sonko’s threat to pull out of the agreement only served to work against him as Badi enjoyed the backing of a group of MCAs who eventually engineered his removal through an impeachment motion.

For the two years that it has been in charge, NMS has also come under criticism from city residents who complained about the failure to address the garbage issue, rampant demolitions, especially in the slum areas, and pending bills running into billions.

MCAs also took NMS to task over what, they said, was a failure to submit quarterly budget reports in line with the deed of transfer.

Badi, however, says that a lot has been achieved despite the numerous legal challenges that they have had to surmount.

“I would like to confirm that NMS has accomplished all the duties given to it and is ready to hand over the departments it was in charge of to the new Nairobi governor and we will be available for advice if needed,” said Badi.

In the health sector, Badi said NMS has constructed  28 hospitals with a major focus being disadvantaged areas. As of last month, 20 of them had been commissioned and fully operational while eight were still in the works.

Parks face-lift

The NMS has also been able to construct 500km of tarmacked road within the slum areas. This, he said, was largely attributed to the setting up of an asphalt (bitumen) plant along Kangundo Road which played a key role in the construction and re-carpeting of roads.

The NMS has also renovated Uhuru and Central parks to give them a modern look.

“The parks had been outdated and renovations ought to have been done 20 years ago. Most of the children’s playgrounds in the estates have been grabbed and they lack a place where they can play and mingle. Once we complete Uhuru Park, it will be an epic place for families,” he added.

He said NMS had also identified 76.01 acres in the city that would be converted to recreational spaces.

They are located in Embakasi East, Kasarani, Kamukunji, Westlands and Kibera sub-counties, including 31.73 acres in Jacaranda Grounds and 7.27 acres in Kamukunji.

Under Land and Urban Planning, the NMS has streamlined the development controls and applications process by clearing about 4,500 pending development applications and digitising the process.

NMS says it has also closed 110 illegal dumping sites and discharging points that were affecting Nairobi and Ngong rivers.

To this effect, four companies were taken to court and various housing estates were prosecuted for breaking environmental laws through illegal effluent discharge.

Badi noted that NMS had also recovered 35 grounded garbage collection vehicles and renewed contracts of private garbage collectors that had stalled because of non-payment. They also engaged 24 new companies.

“In the water sector, a total of 193 boreholes in various areas in Nairobi have been drilled. Therefore, 100,000 stainless steel water tanks have been installed, and water pumps and water kiosks manned by youths from the areas to eradicate cartels,” stated Badi.

As he exits, Badi says running Nairobi was one of the most difficult assignments in his military career.

“I have been running Nairobi County for the last two years. It has been a challenging job especially if you are a military man and you are given a political position. It was a hot seat since I was running the capital city of Kenya where services had been run down.”

“It’s one of the most difficult tasks I have ever been given as compared to the Sierra Leone Peacekeeping Mission. From day one, you start fighting with politicians and those who think they own the city and up to now the fight is not over,” he said.