• The Ward reps say the office will play a key role in receiving and processing complaints raised by Nairobi residents.
• Through a notice motion by nominated MCA Mbugua Kabiro, the office will only concentrate and deal with issues brought by residents since at the moment they can only complain through their area MCA .
Nairobi MCAs have urged the County Government to develop a policy for the establishment of an Ombudsman office.
The Ward reps say the office will play a key role in receiving and processing complaints raised by Nairobi residents.
Through a motion by nominated MCA Mbugua Kabiro, the office will only concentrate and deal with issues brought by residents since at the moment they can only complain through their area MCA .
"At the moment residents can only air out their complaints via their MCAs and at many times some are forced to go back home due to lack of a chance to meet their ward reps," Kabiro said.
He added, "This why this motion is important to create an office which will give aggrieved city residents a chance to lay out their complaints concerning cases of maladministration from officers working at the county".
Kabiro said the office would be in a view to foster a performance-oriented culture that seeks to revamp the process through which the County Government operates.
This he argues, would increase efficiency and effectiveness, "and inculcate a culture of client-oriented, mission-driven, and quality-enhanced management in the County."
According to him, the office will be similar to that of the national government’s Commission on Administration of Justice to provide an out of court mechanism for the public.
Kabiro said the executive should take note of complaints from residents because it will assist them in identifying the weak sectors in their service delivery.
"After identification of weak sectors, this will even assist the executive in effective planning and finding ways to solve and better quality service delivery," he said.
As a result, he said the county government will move in speed to provide solutions so as to also maintain its reputation.
"Its quite disappointing that the capital city which is a county as well with a population of over five million people does not have an appeal mechanism for its residents. The office will give assurance that at least there will be someone following up on their raised issues," Kabiro said.
Many residents have been complaining of county officers who have been demanding for bribes which as a result the common mwananchi is unable to access services as well as experience delay in delivery.
Due to extortion at the expense of service delivery, Kabiro states that the county has encountered huge revenue loss which affects its financial year's targets.
"Suppliers have personally complained to me of not getting paid for their services because of officers who are holding on to their money and asking for bribes before they approve their payments," he said.
Concerns have been raised over the increase of public harassment, extortion of traders and arbitrary arrests by county inspectorate officers 'kanjo' and revenue collection officers.
According to Kabiro, the office will also be used to address the above issues, because the officers have not been charged for such due to lack of effective complaints handling mechanisms.