•Wanga warned that they will not allow containers to be returned until the controversy involving the contract is resolved.
•He said the city board had suspended the placement of containers.
Image: MAURICE ALAL
The Kisumu county government has warned against the return of containers that had been erected on sewer lines within the city as business stalls.
The warning comes after Space Buster Limited director Babior Newton returned the containers next to Telkom plaza.
Space Buster's contract has so far been suspended.
Acting city manager Abala Wanga said the demolished containers should not be returned as they had been placed on sewer lines and were allegedly put up without public participation.
He also demolished structures next to Telkom Plaza, leaving traders incurring losses.
Wanga warned that they will not allow containers to be returned until the controversy involving the contract of containers is resolved.
He said the city board had suspended the placement of containers.
“I don’t know what is wrong with the owners of those containers. Despite suspension by the board, they have been returned. That will not be tolerated,” he said.
“We are going to tow those containers to the works yard. As a board, we agreed that containers should not be placed next to Telkom plaza and Akamba area.”
The board chairman Elijah Adul had warned the contractor against placing the containers until they give him a go-ahead.
He said it is the board that will decide on whether to continue with the contract or not.
However, Space Buster director said at the time that the containers were erected after following due process.
Babior said he was awarded the tender during former city manager Doris Ombara's tenure to put up modern and affordable containers for traders.
He said he was awarded the tender on November 27, last year, under a public-private partnership contract after a competitive tendering process.
“We signed the contract with the city. Whatever has happened is illegal.”
On Friday, some traders supported the return of containers at reduced fees of Sh 5,000. However, Wanga dismissed the attempts by some youths terming it illegal.
Led by Charles Ooko Aketch, the traders want the standoff on the placement of containers resolved.
Babior has been locked in a war of words with the Kisumu City management over the placement of containers along the streets where hawkers had been removed.
Soon after he warned that he was heading to court to seek justice, the authorities led by Wanga reiterated that no container would be erected in the utility area.
In a press statement issued early this month, the city manager accused the investor of desperately trying to link Governor Anyang' Nyong'o and top county officials to his woes and asked him to stop.
“Our attention has been drawn to reports on social media attributed to one Newton Babior who is making alarmist and false claims that the Kisumu City management has unlawfully removed several of his 40-foot containers from the Central Business District,” read the statement.
“The said Babior has been using poorly photoshopped pictures of himself and some senior county leaders in a desperate attempt to prove that he was close to the county leadership.”
“We also caution Babior to stop spreading malicious reports against the management of City Hall and the county because of his self-inflicted business wounds attributed to poor business strategies and lack of consultations.”
Wanga said sometime last year, the Kisumu City Board decided to cushion small-scale traders who had been displaced by the reorganisation of the city.
“It was decided that a controlled number of containers be allowed at gazetted locations on the fringes of the CBD. Tenders were flouted inviting those who had the capacity to supply containers for the SMEs. Four firms applied and Space Buster won the contract,” he said.
Wanga said that during subsequent meetings, officials from Space Buster met the city management and were given specific directives and rules on where to place the containers.
The company had been cautioned against erecting containers on sewer lines as well as pathways and top of paved cabros.
“The contractor was further warned against subjecting traders to exorbitant rent. He was told not to charge more than Sh3,500 per cubicle. He went ahead to levy between Sh7,000 to Sh10,000 per cubicle,” he said.
According to Wanga, it was then that the mess began. “Before the city management realised it, the company had placed a dozen containers on top of sewer lines and underneath power lines next to Telkom,” he said.
He pointed out that traders protested but the investor refused to listen and the company went ahead to flout several clauses in the agreement.
“We cautioned him but he refused to listen and continued to import more containers,” he said.
He said company workers had sneaked several containers curiously painted in county colours into the area next to former Akamba Bus offices.
It had flouted another agreement because this area was not gazetted for the containers, having been cleared last year by Kenya Railways bulldozers.
“The city management was alerted by concerned residents and containers were swiftly removed,” he said.
Wanga said the city management had no agenda against the company but will not allow any individual or investor to create disorder.
He said the management had worked hard to create order within the city and will not allow any entity to exploit traders, adding that supporting the county’s small and medium enterprises was a priority.
“This is why, we, in conjunction with the national government and other partners, are putting up ultra-modern markets and creating a business-friendly environment. We wish to tell our people, especially traders, to ignore the propaganda being spread by Babior and his bloggers.”
“He won the tender but has since shot himself in the foot by doing what he was not supposed to do,” he said.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris