The county government of Nairobi has embarked on a number of initiatives to address the plight of hawkers and market the county as a tourist destination.
Trade CEC Anna Othoro says her ministry, under the Markets and Trade Services department, in April last year initiated a pilot programme on ‘timed markets’ — commonly known as trade exhibitions — at Gill House off Moi Avenue.
“This has helped deal with the wanton and unregulated selling of products on the streets by hawkers. We followed a model used in other markets where traders are given space to operate within a given period,” Othoro said.
In this case, the markets were to run only over the weekends. Later in the year, another location was provided at Pioneer, also off Moi Avenue and near the August 7th Memorial Park.
The two markets will run until December.
However, on January 27, a decision was reached to stop the ‘timed markets’ at Tumaini and Gill House, both off Moi Avenue, due to congestion and security concerns.
"It was resolved that the markets in all the three locations be stopped and that alternative venues be sought. The timed markets were started to help members of vulnerable groups like people with disabilities and women," she said.
Othoro added that several other markets have been rehabilitated to decongest the city. They include Dandora A 2, Githurai, Landhies Road (also known as the Retail Market) and Wakulima Market, where there is carpeting of the main parking and selling areas. The Quarry Road market has also been rehabilitated.
The county has also repainted and refurbished the Kariokor market. “During the initial fixing of the drainage system, the large number of people in the market was putting pressure on the infrastructure hence the drainage reverted to its former sorry state. But things have improved now,” Othoro said.
On City market, Othoro said although the matter has been in court and an injunction placed against the county's completion of the rehabilitation work, it has been repainted and the county is fixing the drainage, grills and doors.
“We have also installed a new gate on Market Street,” Othoro said.
She added that the county government could do more if the court injunction is lifted.
“Once the injunction is lifted, the county will finalise carpeting of pathways at Shauri Moyo Market (Phase 1) and Umoja 1 Market where there is construction of an extension,” Othoro said.
“The City Park market is also under construction. We are building 12 blocks of market stalls and the slabbing for 1,200 stalls.”
She said the City Park market will have a hotel block with 22 stalls and that Phase 2 has been tendered and the award should go out within a month.
Othoro added that 60 burnt stalls are being rebuilt at Karen market and that roofing of the market is set to commence this month.
The Trade CEC said the Westlands market is being constructed by the national government under the Ministry of Lands, Urban Planning & Housing, adding that the market was never handed over to the county.
"The building of this market has stalled several times. We have sought a meeting through Urban Renewal and Housing sector to meet the new team at the ministry and see how we can expedite the process of completion of the market. Currently, the contractor is awaiting payment from the exchequer in order to continue," she said.
The county government has also partnered with donors to construct the Jogoo Road, Karandini, Mwariro and New Wakulima Fresh Produce markets.
"We are working with the Ministry of Lands, Planning and Urban Development and the World Bank on Jogoo, Karandini and Mwariro — which replaces Kangemi due to the challenges of land ownership we were facing at Kangemi. We have contracted consultants to undertake feasibility studies, development of project designs, bidding documents and supervision of construction work," she said.
She added that new Wakulima market at Mowlem is being done through funding from the African Development Bank as part of the Outering Road Building Project.
She said designs have been drawn by the NCCG Architectural team and are being reviewed by the consultant hired by the contractor in partnership with the Kenya Urban Roads Authority.
"They are completing the final drawings, mobilisation and ground-breaking should happen within the month," Othoro said.
She said the county government is keen to improve the capacity of SMEs through capacity building training and improving enterprise opportunities through the issuance of revolving funds under the Nairobi City County Loans Board.
"We are working on improving the ease of doing business ranking of the City of Nairobi. We were previously at 131 and have now moved to 108. Making Nairobi number one of the top 20 most successful cities in the world. The proposed Trade Bill 2015 has been presented to the committee twice and is with the County Attorney for publishing. I believe that we will be able to present it to the assembly once the attorney completes the process," she said.
Othoro added that the county is also using ICT in the collection of revenue and the issuance of licenses, which has earned Nairobi the title of the Smartest City in Africa.
She said the county is now working on achieving a single license regime.
“We have also made progress in the tourism sector and several events have taken place here. They include the Nairobi International Trade Fair in September 2015 and the World Trade Organisation 10th Ministerial Conference in December," she said.
Othoro said the county government is currently working on several major conferences, which include the Afwa Congress, which is to take place this February, the MICE Expo with KICC to take place in March and the SME expo in April, the UNCTAD Conference in July and the TICAD conference in August 2016.
She said the county is in the process of developing the Nairobi Tourism Information Centre, which will be a county marketing brand.
"We have developed and launched the marketing brand for the City of Nairobi. Due to constraints in budget, we are not able to market it as vibrantly as we would have wanted to. Better budgets in the next financial year will assist us in achieving the visibility and awareness required to propel the industry and make it vibrant," she said.
Othoro said the county has purchased the City Tourism buses and one bus has already been branded. “We are ready to launch the city bus tourism circuits and walking tours.”
She said these measures will help boost the county’s tourism and keep the city clean.
