• “Sonko's ouster was political because he was a hindrance to the plans Uhuru had for Nairobi through NMS. With Kananu in charge at City Hall, Badi will have no interference with the projects he is undertaking,” Omari said.
Image: MAUREEN KINYANJUI
Mike Sonko's impeachment as Nairobi governor 40 days ago has heralded a new dawn at City Hall.
The swearing-in of Anne Kananu as deputy governor and her taking over as acting governor has had an immediate impact on both the executive and legislative arms of the county government.
Lawyer and political analyst Danstan Omari says with the new leadership, nothing will hinder the plans President Uhuru Kenyatta has for Nairobi through his super project 'the NMS'.
“Sonko's ouster was political because he was a hindrance to the plans Uhuru had for Nairobi through NMS. With Kananu in charge at City Hall, Badi will have no interference with the projects he is undertaking,” Omari said.
County Assembly Majority leader Abdi Guyo said the new leadership will result in a seamless working relationship between the county government and NMS.
The Spring Valley-Matopeni MCA said the county almost came to a standstill last year because of Sonko's refusal to give warrants which releases funds from the county coffers.
“There was a lot of constraints because Sonko was in denial of the deed of transfer agreement which he signed himself giving out the core functions to NMS. As a result, the county staff and the assembly were not paid for a period of three months just because he did not want the team led by major general Badi to access funds,” Guyo said.
The former governor had vowed not to release funds to NMS, maintaining the Nairobi Metropolitan Services was an illegal entity.
"I will not, I shall not and I'm not going to append my signature to give funds to an illegal entity,” Sonko said.
Speaker Benson Mutura who took over as acting governor after Sonko's impeachment immediately signed a warrant on December 17, 2020 giving the green light for the Sh37.5 billion county budget to be implemented. Some Sh27 billion was allocated to NMS.
Guyo said county staff, especially those in the executive, can now undertake their duties without fear of being intimidated and threatened.
“We have staff at the executive who were being suffocated and forced to append their signatures on documents which might have legal consequences. Senior officers could not fully and freely perform in their departments because of fear of what action the boss might take if they don't go by his rules,” Guyo said.
He said he was optimistic of a healthy working relationship between the assembly and Kananu's executive.
Minority Whip Peter Imwatok said with Kananu in charge, MCAs were at liberty to interact with the executive and follow up on projects in their wards.
“Sonko tried to micromanage the county government as a one-man show and any professionals were not at ease. If you look at the operations at the county since the exit of Sonko or even walk within City Hall, you can sense some relief from everyone,” Imwatok said.
The Makongeni ward representative added, “MCAs are now at liberty to follow their ward projects with county officers without fear of being marked.”
Imwatok said he was hoping payments made to contractors and small and medium enterprises will be done according to the law.
“We have seen how the ousted governor used to pay law firms millions of shillings at the expense of small, medium enterprises. Now we can be assured that payments will be done without any favour to anyone."
Finance, Budget and Appropriations committee chairman Robert Mbatia told the Star the change of guard at City Hall means there will be goodwill from the public to pay their taxes.
He said the county had been performing poorly in revenue collection due to political interference with those in the Finance department.
“There was a lot of interference especially in the Finance department which is the backbone of the county. If the county government is seen to have numerous reshuffles with no stability, then the people will lose faith and hesitate to pay taxes,” Mbatia said.
“When the government fails, there is not goodwill from people to pay their taxes,” the Kariobangi South MCA added.
He said revenue collections have improved since KRA took over as the principal agent last year.
He said KRA, NMS and City Hall were not reading from the same page when Sonko was governor.
“From City Hall, it was pure sabotage because we know they were receiving orders from above. Even as a budget committee, it was hard for us to find a setting where all these three stakeholders can sit and come to an agreement.”
Edited by P.O